His first love
by ezrialoverr
Summary: Ezra and Aria are both in college, together with Spencer and Hardy. Ezria story.
1. Chapter 1

Ezra and Hardy were roommates but also best friends. They had known eachother for two years now. They met when they both started college and were assigned to the same room. They were both very different. Hardy was very out going. He slept with a different girl almost every night and went to every party the college had to offer. He was here on a sports scholarship, and he was one of the most popular guys on campus.

Ezra was the complete opposite of Hardy. He enjoyed reading and writing. Most of his time was spent reading or doing homework. He was an english major, who hoped to be a english teacher one day. Unlike Hardy, Ezra had never been in love before. He had never been in a relationship before, and he had never even slept with a girl. A part of him was ashamed of it, but he wanted to wait until he found the right girl.

For a reason unknown to everyone, Ezra and Hardy had become very good friends. They had a special friendship. Ezra helped Hardy get girls, or helped him with his homework. While Hardy helped Ezra whenever he had problems, mostly when the problems involved his dysfunctional family. The two spent a lot of time together, and every once in a while Hardy could even get Ezra to join him at a party.

Their room consisted of 4 rooms. Two of them were bedrooms, one of them was a bathroom and the other was a small living room combined with a kitchen. They had completely adjusted to room to their taste, which was quite difficult considering they both had very different tastes. So they had decided to decorate the room with a simple design.

The fact that they didn´t have to share a bedroom was a blessing for Ezra. Because hardy would bring home a girl almost every night, and he was certainly not quiet. The morning after Hardy would make the girls breakfast, like a gentleman. Luckily the girls were almost Always also looking for a one time thing. So the amount of heartbreak in their dorm was not a lot.

Just like every morning after, Ezra heard some shuffling in the kitchen. He figured that after Hardy went to the party the day before, he had brought home yet another girl. Ezra was reluctant to go into the room, because he would probably run into the girl, but he really had to be in class on time. So, he sighed and got out of bed. He was curious as to what kind of girl Hardy had brought home this time.

Walking into the kitchen, Ezra was absolutely mesmerized. Standing in the kitchen was beautiful petit brunette wearing nothing but an oversized shirt. Ezra felt his heart beat in his chest, something he had never experienced when looking at a girl. She was perfect with her long hair, her soft pink lips and her sparkling hazel eyes.

She noticed his stare and looked at him, curious as to who the guy was. Ezra now noticed he looked ridiculous and was suddenly very self-aware. He wished he had combed his hair, or shaved his face before entering this kitchen.

Before any of the two could say something, Hardy walked in and Ezra finally managed to get his gaze off of this beautiful girl. Hardy looked at Ezra a little strangely, he had never seen Ezra so admiring of a girl, and he chuckled a little.

"You missed a good party last night, dude. Too bad you´d rather study, than have a little fun." Hardy said, playfully punching Ezra on the shoulder. Normally Ezra would have laughed at his friend´s joke, but now he felt a little embarrassed. Until now, he had never felt ashamed of his love for learning. But now that this beautiful girl was standing infront of him, he couldn´t help but feel a little self-consious. So, he decided to give his friend a small smile, and sat down at the table.

"Aria, this is my roommate and also my best friend, Ezra." Hardy said to the girl, pointing to Ezra. He continued, "Ezra, this is Aria. She´s a friend of mine". Ezra couldn´t help but wonder what Hardy meant with friend. Was she really just a friend to him, or was it more than that? He certainly hoped she was just a friend, because he had never felt this way about a girl. He felt himself wanting to know more about this beautiful girl.

"Nice to meet you, Aria. You have a really beautiful name." Ezra told the girl, trying to sound confident, but failing miserably. He held his hand out for her to shook, and when she did, Ezra could feel a sparkle running through his body. She gave him a small smile, and sat down next to him.

"I´m starving, please tell me you guys have some decent food." the girl chuckled. Hardy seemed to think it was funny too, because he also let out a laugh. All the while, Ezra was feeling butterflies, just from sitting so close to this girl. He tried not looking at her, but he felt a strong urge to look at her. As if he wanted to remember everything about her, every detail of her.

"Well, you´re Lucky. I have excellent food, I happen to know what girls like." Hardy told her, giving her a playful wink which made Ezra´s stomach turn. The girl chuckled in response. "Don´t even try that with me, Mr. Casanova." she said, while playfully giving him a push. "Anyways, I have to get going. I can´t be late, for my class. Professor johnson would kill me if I showed up late again". she continued, while getting up and lifting her bag off of the ground.

"It was nice meeting you, Ezra. I´ll see you guys. Bye". She said, after giving hardy a quick hug, which he gladly accepted.

After she left, Hardy immediately turned his attention to his best friend and gave him a smirk. "You like her, don´t you?". It was times like this, Ezra hated that his best friend could look right through him. He felt his cheeks burning up and managed to get out a few words. "She seems nice."

"Don´t lie to me, dude. You were practically drooling over her. I have never seen you like this with a girl before". Hardy told his friend, obviously amused to see his best friend like this for the first time. "I was not drooling over her. She was pretty, I´ll give you that. I´m surprised you managed to seduce her." Ezra said, trying to sound like he didn´t care at all.

"Well, Sorry to dissapoint you, but I did not seduce her. She´s just a friend, who needed a place to crash." Hardy said, and he couldn´t help but chuckle at Ezra who tried to hide his excitement over the fact that Hardy did not sleep with the girl. Hardy Always tried to convince Ezra to go out with girls, and maybe this could be the first time he could actually get Ezra to agree.

"If you want, I can fix you up with her." Hardy told Ezra. At first Ezra wanted to say yes immediately, but he was a little reluctant. She was probably way out of his league. She looked like she was part of the popular kids, and none of the popular kids except for Hardy seemed to like him. He didn´t want to embarrass himself. Also, he didn´t want to be the guy that needed his best friend to get him a date.

"I don´t know, Hardy." Ezra told his friend, deciding he wasn´t going to embarrass himself. Hardy was dissapointed, but decided not to push Ezra for now.

Meanwhile on the other side of campus, Aria was catching up with her best friend Spencer. She had made class in time, only to find the teacher wasn´t even there himself. She was dissapointed she only got to talk to Ezra for such a short time. He was really cute. And from what Hardy had told her, Ezra was a really great guy. He seemed to be nice, and dedicated to his schoolwork.

He was the complete opposite of the guys Aria had dated in the past. There were two serious relationships she had. One was with her friends older brother, Jason. At first Jason was a really great guy. He was the first guy she slept with, but he soon became very possesive and violent towards her. She broke it off, after she had to see a doctor because of him. Now everytime she saw him, she immediately tried to hide.

The other guy was Noel, who she dated the first year of college. But he turned out to be a cheating jerk, and after that Aria had decided to stay single for awhile. But now she was doubting her decision. She could definitely see herself dating Ezra. Hardy told her he was an english major, which she was too. For some reason they had never met each other.

Spencer noticed Aria wasn´t really there with her mind, and smiled to herself. Her friend seemed to be happy, something she had not seen in awhile. After that Noel guy had cheated on her, Aria was devastated. She now pretended like she was totally over it, but Spencer knew her friend better than that. So to see Aria thinking about something and smiling, made Spencer very happy.

The two girls just sat down a table in crowded lunchroom, when Aria noticed hardy and Ezra entering the room. Hardy was the first to notice Aria, and walked over to them. Without asking for permission, he decided to join the girls. Ezra was a little unsure of what to do. He didn´t know if he could just join them. But once Hardy signalled for him to get over there, he also sat down.

"We meet again." Ezra joked, attempting to be funny, which received a smile from Aria and a smirk from Hardy. Ezra tried not to pay attention to Hardy, who was obviously catching on to the fact that Ezra really liked Aria, but it was hard when he kept making faces at him.

"So, Montgomery, Hastings, Will you guys be at the party tonight?" Hardy asked the two girls, who he had known for a few weeks. Spencer smiled and answered, " Yeah, we´ll definitely be there. Are you guys coming too?"

Hardy decided to be funny. "Well, I´ll definitely be there, you know me. But Ezra, here, don´t count on him. He is not really a party person. He is more into books, than parties." this caused Ezra to feel embarrassed. He didn´t really like parties, but he desperately wanted to spend time with Aria. So he decided to be different for once, "Actually, I think I´ll be there too. I could use some party time."

Hardy couldn´t believe his best friend had volunteered to come to a party, and a part of him thought he was dreaming. But he realised Ezra was only doing this to impress Aria, which made Hardy laugh silently. He thought Ezra and Aria would be perfect for each other, but he was going to let them figure it out themselves.

"So , I´ll guess we will see you guys tonight then." spencer told the guys, while watching how Aria tried to stare at Ezra as secretly as possible, but obviously failing to do so. Spencer soon figured out the reason Aria looked so happy, she had seen her friend like this before. But she was still very protective of her best friend, and she was going to make sure her friends would not be heartbroken again.

"Yeah, totally. Do you guys want us to pick you up?" Hardy suggested, making Ezra really happy. That meant he would find out where Aria lived, and for some reason he really wanted to know. "That would be great, Hardy." Aria told her friend, not knowing this made Ezra extremely happy.

After that the friends parted ways, all getting ready for the party. Hardy was completely calm about these kinds of things, while Ezra was extremely nervous. Ofcourse he went to parties from time to time, but now there was someone he wanted to impress. He searched his entire closet, desperate to find something nice to wear. Hardy could see his friend struggling, and decided to help him out. He reached in the closet and found a black shirt. "Wear this, she´ll like it."

"Thanks". Ezra told him, trying to ignore the fact that Hardy definitely knew he was into Aria. But Hardy was not going to let Ezra off easily, and decided to talk to his friend about this crush he had developed in a few hours. "So, are you going after Aria?" he asked, genuinely curious as to what Ezra was planning to do.

Ezra himself also wondered what he was going to do, he liked her but he strongly doubted if she could like him back. He had never even been on a date with a girl, let alone done anything else. He wondered how experienced Aria was, she probably wasn´t as innocent. Not that he cared if she had dated before, but it made him nervous. Knowing she was probably used to experienced guys, and he was as inexperienced as a guy could be.

"I don´t know, Hardy. I doubt she likes me, so what´s the point in trying to persuade her?" he said, talking more to himself, than to Hardy. Hardy was getting annoyed at his friends insecurity. "Ezra, Aria is a great girl. Even if she doesn´t like you, she won´t be a bitch about it. But I think you have a shot, she is probably tired of dating jerks." hardy said, trying to convince his friend to finally ask a girl out.

"You really think I should ask her out?" Ezra asked, trying to get the courage to actually do it. One part of him was trying to talk him out of it, while another part of him was trying to convince him to go after Aria.

"You should definitely ask her out. If you never try, you´ll never know." he laughed, finally convincing Ezra.

Spencer and Aria did not have that much trouble finding an outfit. Both were pretty confident, and knew just what to wear when going to a party. Aria had decided she was going to wear a red dress, matched with red heels. She hoped this would impress Ezra. She knew he was a little shy, and she wondered if he was going to ask her out. She certainly hoped he was going to.

It would certainly dissapoint her if he didn´t ask her out. Although she would also be fine with him kissing her, or even more. He was sexy, and she couldn´t help but notice that he had an amazing body. When she saw him in his pyjamas that morning, she had felt her heart beating very fast. A one night stand with him would be great, but she hoped that she could get more out of it. He did not seem like a jerk that just used girls.

But a part of her was a little scared. She Always saw the best in people, and people often took advantage of her trusting nature. What if she was too trusting of Ezra too? She knew she was overthinking this, but she couldn´t help herself. She just couldn´t stop thinking about him.

A knock on the door interupted her thoughts and meant Ezra and Hardy were at the door. Both Ezra and Aria were extremely nervous for what the night would bring.

 **So I decided to start a new story. What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

Aria opened the door, causing both Hardy and Ezra to stare. She looked so amazing, it was hard not to want to look at her. Ezra couldn´t help but notice Hardy was also staring at her. If Hardy did have feelings for Aria, Ezra would not have a chance. But luckily Hardy stopped looking at Aria after a few seconds, and started to speak.

"You look amazing, Aria." Hardy spoke the words Ezra wanted to say. Ezra did not like that he didn´t have the chance to say it, but in all honesty he probably wouldn´t have said it anyways. It was too forward, it was too Hardy-like. He didn´t want to be like hardy, he wanted to be himself.

"Thanks, Hardy." Aria replied. She was a little dissapointed that Ezra did not compliment her, but luckily his facial expression told her he thought she looked good. She wondered if he was going to compliment her, or make a move at some point that night. She wanted him to, but if he wasn´t going to make a move, she would make a move himself. She had been told she was good kisser, and she was hoping to use that talent on Ezra.

Spencer also walked over to the door, and she was also complimented by Hardy. Ezra wondered why Hardy had never mentioned being friends with these two girls, who he obviously knew very well. He realised he didn´t even know how he had met the two of them. He decided to ask about it. "So, how did you girls meet my lovely friend here?"

Aria chuckled. "Funny story, actually. Hardy, here decided to hit on me at a party once. But I was in a relationship, so I wasn´t interested. But Hardy was so drunk, he didn´t even realise I was rejecting him. So, when my boyfriend walked in he punched him in the face." Aria, Spencer and Hardy all laughed at this, and then Aria continued. "I helped Hardy get home, because I felt sorry for him. We´ve been friends ever since."

Ezra was shocked to hear she had a boyfriend, how could Hardy not tell him that she had a boyfriend. Hardy saw his shocked face and realised what Ezra was thinking, he desperately wanted to tell him immediately that she broke up with her cheating boyfriend. But he realised that if he said that, it could possibly hurt Aria. And he didn´t want to upset Aria, especially not tonight.

"So, shall we go?" Hardy asked, realising it was time to go to the party. He hoped the girls needed to do something before they left, so Hardy could talk to Ezra. Luckily they both had to do something, and Hardy immediately turned around to face an angry Ezra. "Dude, I know what you´re thinking. But I met Aria three months ago, and a week after I met her they broke up." He could see Ezra´s face soften, and chuckled as his friend. "Dude, you are so into her."

Ezra realised he had overreacted in his head, and mentally scolded himself. He had never felt this way about anyone, and it was scaring him a little. She could either make him really happy, or really sad.

The girls returned and the foursome made their way to the halls of the college dorm. They were all feeling really excited, it was one of the biggest parties on campus. Luckily it wasn´t far away from their dorms, so they wouldn´t have trouble getting home. Ezra walked next to Aria, while Hardy walked next to Spencer. Ezra wondered if Hardy was going to hook up with anyone that night. He was probably going to, so Ezra would have to get home alone. He secretly hoped Aria would let him walk her home, so he could spend some time with her.

They soon arrived at the party, and Ezra felt a little out of place. Apparently, Aria, Spencer and Hardy were very popular, because everybody seemed to know them. They were almost the centre of the party, while Ezra wasn´t recognized by anyone. He felt a little embarrassed and wondered what Aria must think of him. She probably thought he was a loser or something. All of a sudden, he wished he had better social skills.

Luckily for him, his three friends didn´t leave him out, and included him in everything. The most popular activity of the night was drinking. Especially Spencer and Hardy were drinking a lot. Aria was also drinking, but a lot less than her two friends. Ezra was barely drinking. He had barely finished the first beer he was handed by Aria, and he only drank that because he didn´t want her to think he was a loser.

Aria noticed Ezra wasn´t really enjoying the party, and decided to ask him to dance with her. If he wasn´t going to make a move, she was going to do it. So she walked over to him, put down her drink and grabbed his hand. She took him to the dance floor, and said;

"Dance with me." Ezra couldn´t help but feel excited she actually wanted to dance with him. He could feel some jealous stares coming from guys at the party, and it felt good. He wasn´t used to being the centre of attention and it he liked it. Well, he liked it now because he was with Aria. All of a sudden the pop music turned into a slow song.

"God, I love this song." Aria said, realising the song was Happiness from the fray. It had been one of her favorite song´s ever since she´d first heard it. She was surprised the song was played at this party, since it was a relatively unknown song.

"Me too. I actually saw the fray live once." Ezra replied. He was happy they had something in common, and decided to impress her. She put her arms around his neck, and Ezra realised he had to put his arms on her waist. This was all so new for him, but he was happy it was with Aria. She made him feel relaxed. He loved the touch of her hands on the back of his neck. It felt good being so close to her.

"You saw them live? Are you serious?" Aria looked at him with wide eyes, the fray was her favorite band yet she never got to see her live. Ezra nodded, and Aria exclaimed. "Omg, I´m so jealous of you. The fray is my all time favorite band, they are amazing." she told him.

"They are my favorite band too! There´s something about them, that is just so special." Ezra said, while Aria decided to put her head on his chest. He could feel his heart beat in his chest, and hoped she didn´t notice how nervous he was.

On the other side of the room, Spencer and Hardy were watching their best friends dance with each other. They both hoped the two would get into a relationship. But they also were very protective of their best friends. Spencer didn´t want Aria to get her heart broken again. While Hardy didn´t want Ezra getting his heart broken for the first time.

"You want them together too, don´t you?" Spencer asked Hardy. Hardy and Spencer had also become very close in the short time they knew each other. The feelings they had for each other were strictly platonic, or atleast that´s what they tried to tell themselves. Hardy looked over to Spencer, and nodded. "I think they would be perfect for each other. They both like english, the fray, and both are very nice people."

Ezra noticed Hardy watching him and Aria, but pretended not to. He just decided to ignore the big smirk on Hardy´s face, knowing his best friend he would soon find some girl and go away.

Once the song had ended, Aria got out of Ezra´s arms and decided they could use a drink. Ofcourse she dragged Ezra with her, and since he didn´t know anybody at the party he gladly followed. In the kitchen which was full of drunk college kids, they also found Hardy. Who once he saw his friends, immediately rushed over to them. Ezra recognised the look in his eyes,it could only mean one thing. He was going to hook up with someone.

"Guys, I need your help. There´s this hot chick I want to take home, but you have to help okay? Ezra, If you could just accidently drop this drink on her, that´s all I need from you." Hardy asked, he was a little drunk but he had been worse. Ezra chuckled, he knew how his best friend got when he was drunk and wanted to hook up. He wasn´t even going to protest, and he figured maybe this could impress Aria.

So he walked over to the girl Hardy wanted to hook up with, and not so accidently spilled his drink all over the girl. He quickly apologized and walked back to Aria, so Hardy could do his magic. "He is such a player." aria chuckled, and continued. "So, you two pick up a lot of girls?". Aria hoped his answer would be no, she didn´t want to think about Ezra hooking up with a lot of random girls.

Ezra shook his head, and said; "No, just Hardy. I´m not really into the one girl each night sort of lifestyle." His answer made Aria really happy, she was glad he wasn´t a player like hardy, not that she had really expected him to be. Ezra was a really sweet guy, and she wanted nothing more than to just kiss him already, but she wasn´t going to throw herself at him.

Spencer walked over to Ezra and Aria, together with some blonde guy and said; "Hey Ar, I´m not going to be home tonight, so I guess I´ll see you tomorrow." Aria laughed at her friend, Spencer wasn´t a slut, but she did enjoy random hook ups every once in a while. "Okay Spence, have fun."

"So, I guess that leaves us." Aria said to Ezra. The party was still full on going, and Ezra tried to pretend he fit in. But Aria could tell he didn´t feel comfortable. "You know we could go back to my place?" she asked him. Ezra was a little shocked and wondered what she meant. Did she want for him to stay the night? He didn´t know if he wanted to do that just yet, but he also didn´t want to reject her.

She noticed his shocked expression, and quickly added; "We can watch a movie, I´m getting kind of bored here." his features immediately softened and he felt a little relieved. He found her extremely attractive, and he could see himself sleeping with her one day, just not the same day he met her.

"Sounds great. Let´s go." he said, while they made their way to the exit of the room. Once they stepped outside he noticed it was getting pretty cold, and took off his jacket. He handed it to her, and she gladly accepted the kind gesture. She was glad Ezra didn´t seem like he was planning on taking advantage of her. Normally she wouldn´t invite guys she just met to her appartment, but she trusted Ezra.

They made their way to Aria´s and Spencer´s room, while making small talk. Ezra felt a little nervous, he had never been alone in a girl´s room. He just hoped he wouldn´t make a fool of himself. She was really great, and he didn´t want to scare her away.

Once they arrived at her door, Aria got out her key, and opened the door. They walked inside, and Aria took off Ezra´s jacket. "Do you want anything to eat or drink? I have some cola, beer and popcorn." she asked Ezra. A part of her wondered if he actually wanted to be there, or if he was just being polite.

"You know, If you don´t want to be here you can tell me. I sometimes forget to give people a chance to choose for themselves." she tried to play it off as a joke, but he could tell she was genuinely worried he didn´t want to be there. He walked over to her, a put a finger under her chin. He lifted her head up, so that they were now looking into eachother´s eyes.

"Hey, I really want to be here. I like you." he said, making her heart flutter. They could both feel butterflies in their stomach, and both were nervous about this moment. Aria realised Ezra was more nervous than she was and decided to just go for it. She gently pressed her lips against his, while putting her hands on the back of his neck. Ezra had never felt something as incredible as this. He could feel her tongue brushing his bottom lip, asking for entrance. He opened his mouth a little wider, and soon their tongues were dancing in a battle for dominance.

After a few minutes of passionate kissing, they pulled away regaining their breaths. She smiled at him and he pressed his forehead against hers. They stayed like this for a moment, perfectly happy with eachother. "So, let´s watch a movie." ezra said, and Aria walked over to her pile of dvd´s. "I like this one." she said, holding up the dvd of it happened one night. Ezra smiled, it was his favorite movie and he couldn´t believe how much they had in common.

"Well, let´s watch that then." Ezra said, causing Aria to smile. "I´ll make us popcorn." she said, walking over to the kitchen. Ezra admired her while she was getting them some food and drinks. She was extremely beautiful, and he couldn´t believe she had just kissed him.

They both sat down on the couch, and the movie started to play. Both had seen the movie numerous times, but it wasn´t as if they were focusing on the movie. They were both too nervous to actually pay attention. Aria snuggled into Ezra´s side, and Ezra couldn´t help but smile. He felt so comfortable with Aria, it was as if they had known each other for years.

Although Aria tried desperately to stay awake, she soon fell asleep. Ezra noticed she had fallen asleep, and tried his best not to move. He didn´t really know what to do in this situation. He didn´t want to make her uncomfortable, by staying without her approval. But he also didn´t want to wake her up. He wished he could call Hardy, to ask his advice, but he knew that his friend would not answer his call right now.

So eventually he decided to just fall asleep with her against him. That way, he could just say he didn´t realise they had fallen asleep. He knew it wasn´t very honest, but it was better than making this situation very awkward. And that´s how Ezra and Aria ended up asleep on the couch.

 **So, someone asked if Aria was a virgin in this story, and like I mentioned in chapter 1 she isn´t. I´ve seen so many fanfics where Ezra was the experienced one, and Aria the virgin. I wanted to do something different.** **reviews would be appreciated. I hope you like this story.**


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Aria woke up still snuggled into Ezra´s side. She couldn´t remember everything that happened the night before, but one thing was sure. They had kissed, and it was perfect. She wondered if he had enjoyed it as much as she had. She assumed he hadn´t made a move because he was shy, but was if she assumed wrong, and he didn´t like her that way.

If that was the case, she would try to be friends with him. They had so much in common, she just had to have him in her life, whether it was as a friend or as something more. He was just so sweet, she couldn´t imagine him hurting her the way Jason and Noel had. Aria was now finally convinced she could move past everything that happened with Noel, and with Jason.

But for her to be able to move on, Ezra had to agree too. She was a little nervous, she liked him and she wasn´t sure if he felt the same way. Aria had Always been confident, but after everything that had happened. From Jason abusing her to Noel cheating on her, her self-confidence had dropped. She believed Ezra wasn´t that shallow as to Judge her on looks or something like that, but what if he thought she wasn´t smart enough?

While Aria was thinking, Ezra woke up. He noticed she was still in his arms, and saw she was awake. He wondered if it bothered her he had stayed over. He decided to ask her about it, because he didn´t want her to be uncomfortable. "Sorry, I fell asleep. Did you mind? I-I didn´t mean to make you uncomfortable or something." he rambled on, nervous as to what she was going to say.

"Ezra, It´s fine. I liked it. Your body makes a great pillow." she laughed, and then stood up and stretched a little. "So, do you want to eat something, It´s still early, so we don´t have to hurry." Not waiting for his answer, she walked over to the kitchen and started getting food out of the fridge. She tried getting plates, but failed miserably. Her height was an issue, even in her own kitchen.

Ezra saw her struggle, and decided to help her. He reached out to the upper cabinets, and pulled out two plates and put them on the table. "There you go." he said, now getting a good look at her. She looked beautiful, even though her make-up was smeared all over her face, and her hair was a mess. "Thank you, you´re my hero." she joked.

Even though it was a joke, Ezra´s heart fluttered at her words. He would give up everything, to be her hero. But he had never been in a relationship before, and he didn´t really know how this worked. Ofcourse he had read about it in books, he had seen it in movies, and he had listened to a lot of love songs. But now he finally understood everything that was Always described as love. He was in love with Aria. He knew that for sure.

It was crazy for him, he had only known her one day, and she had already conquered his heart. She didn´t even know she had it. Ezra decided that if he wanted to pursue her, he was going to put in some effort. He promised himself he was going to ask her on a date, but first he was going to eat breakfast with her.

"So, did we even finish that movie last night?" Aria asked, a little embarrassed she fell asleep in the company of Ezra. She knew she looked terrible when she was sleeping, and she wished she had just stayed awake. But luckily Ezra didn´t make a big deal out of it, he just acted as if it was perfectly fine. "I think we managed to watch half of it." Ezra chuckled.

"I´m so sorry for falling asleep in the middle of the movie, I realise I might have been very boring company." she said, making Ezra confused. "Why would you even think I was bored? I had fun with you, and I also fell asleep, so I guess we´re both to blame here." he replied to her, making her blush. She was happy to know he had fun with her, that´s all she wanted to hear.

"So, do you want me to make you some scrambled eggs?" Aria offered Ezra. She was dying to show off the cooking skills she had mastered in cooking class. He noticed her enthusiasm and nodded. "Sounds great. Do you need me to do something?" he asked, being the polite gentleman he was. He hoped she accepted his offer, he really wanted to do something, rather than just sit and wait.

"Well, there´s is something you could do.. But you probably won´t like it." She said, making Ezra very curious. "Try me." he replied.

"Could you go ask our neighbour if he has any milk? I need it to make the eggs, but the guy scares the crap out of me." she giggled, feeling ashamed of herself. He probably thought she was stupid. Ezra chuckled, and replied. "Sure, I´ll go ask the scary neighbour for milk."

And so Ezra made his way over to the what aria thought was scary neighbour. After he knocked on the neighbour´s door a few times, the door was answered by a blonde haired guy. The guy looked at him, probably wondering who he was.

"Hi. I was wondering if I could borrow some milk from?" Ezra asked, the guy was indeed a little intimidating. "I´m sorry you are...?" The guy asked, wondering why this strange guy was infront of his door asking for milk, even though he didn´t even live in the same hall as him. Ezra now felt a little stupid for not introducing himself, and spoke up. "Sorry, I´m Ezra Fitz. I stayed over at the room next door, and we need milk."

The guy gave him a funny look, and Ezra wondered why. "So, hooking up on school nights? Nice job, dude. These girls are hot." The neighbour said with a smirk, and continued. "So, which one did ya screw?" Ezra felt disgusted by the guys words, and had to calm himself down before doing something stupid. Luckily for him the guy went away to get the milk ezra wanted.

After Ezra had restrained himself from punching the guy, and friendly thanked him for the milk, he made his way back to Aria´s apartment. She had dressed in the meantime, and wondered what took Ezra so long. She was almost afraid he had ran out on her. But luckily he was there with the milk she wanted.

Finally Aria was able to make the eggs she had promised Ezra, and started working on them. She grabbed the eggs, and the milk and mixed them the way she had learned in cooking class. Aria often took classes like that. She had taken on in pottery, painting and photography. It was a way for her to get her mind of things, to meet new people and to just learn new things.

To say Aria was a busy person was an understatement. She had her lessons, her extra classes, her sports and most importantly her friends. Aria was very popular, so she was often asked for parties or just simple shopping trips. And although most of these things were voluntarily, she sometimes felt pressured. She wanted to be carefree, and sometimes all her activities were bringing her down.

While Aria was making breakfast, Ezra was admiring her. He still couldn´t believe how beautiful she was. He wanted to ask her out, but he wondered how he was going to. Should he just ask her if she wanted to go out one time? Or should he make a big deal out of it? He had never asked a girl out before, so he was really nervous.

Aria noticed him staring at her, and couldn´t help but blush a little. She wondered what he was thinking about. Did he think she was pretty? She sure hoped he did. She also wondered if he was going to ask her out? What if he just saw her as a friend. She didn´t think she was capable of being just friends with Ezra, she liked him too much for that.

"Aria." Ezra blurted out her name, even though he did not have a plan yet. But he figured he was never going to have a plan, and he just had to live in the moment. "Would you want to go on a date with me?" he asked nervously, hoping she wasn´t going to reject him.

His question made Aria´s heart flutter. "Ofcourse I want to go on a date with you." she answered happily. Finally, he had asked her out. A big smile formed on her face, as well as Ezra´s.

Ezra was happy she said yes, so she did like him as more than a friend. "That´s great. Shall we go on Friday?" If she agreed, that would give Ezra a whole day to prepare for their date. "Sounds perfect." she replied, giving him a smile.

"Shall I just text you the details?" he asked her. To which she replied with a nod and a smile. "Okay, Can I have your number then?" he asked, laughing a little. It felt strange to ask her number, because it felt like he had known her for so long already.

She giggled, also thinking it felt weird. "Ofcourse, give me your Phone, I´ll put it in." And so Ezra handed Aria her Phone, and she started putting her number in. Ezra was a little nervous, because he didn´t have a lot of contacts in his Phone. Would she find that weird? She didn´t seem like the type of girl to Judge someone based on things like popularity or looks.

Just when Aria handed Ezra back his Phone, Spencer stormed into the room. A smirk formed on her face, when she realised Ezra was there in the same clothes he had worn the night before. She wondered what had happened between the two of them, he had obviously slept there. But she questioned if all they was sleeping. She could see Aria was attracted to Ezra, and that he liked her too.

"I didn´t realise you were here." Spencer said, trying to hide her curiousity. She obviously failed to do so, because Aria felt the need to explain. "We fell asleep while watching a movie last night. Anyways, how was your night?" Spencer could tell she was just trying to change the subject and decided to tease her a little. "It was great. But I bet you two had a lot more fun with your movie." spencer said, winking at Aria.

Aria could feel her cheeks getting a little red, and wanting nothing more than for Spencer to shut up. Ezra quickly caught onto this, and decided to break the awkward tension. "I should go, I´ll see you tomorrow." He said, smiling at Aria.

He wondered if he should hug her, but before he could decide, he felt two arms around his body. The feeling of her body against his felt amazing, and Ezra quickly wrapped his arms around her tiny body. Both seemed to like this intimate gesture, because both were reluctant to let go.

It wasn´t until Spencer awkwardly cleared her throat, that the two got out of the tight embrace. Aria smiled at Ezra and said; "Goodbye, Ezra."

Ezra let himself out, and Aria was immediately bombarded with questions once the door was closed. "How was it? Did you guys hook up? Do you like him?" Spencer was talking so fast, Aria didn´t even have a chance to answer one of her questions. Spencer seemed to realise that and stopped talking while looking at Aria excitedly.

"Sorry to dissapoint you, but we did not hook up. Well, except for one kiss, but that was did, however, ask me out on a date for tomorrow. I said yes. And I do like him. Have you seen him? What´s not to like." Aria replied to her friend. She was still over the moon that Ezra had asked her out on a date.

"I knew it. You guys would be so cute together." Spencer exclaimed. She was happy her friend had decided to go out on a date again. She was honestly a little surprised had agreed to go on a date. Spencer knew everything that happened in Aria´s former relationships. Once she´d found out Noel had cheated on her, she refused to date anyone. Ofcourse there were a couple of random hook ups, but Aria refused to get close to any boy romantically.

So it was nice to see that might change. Spencer believed Ezra would be good for Aria. From the few hours she had spent with Ezra the day before, she had figured out that he was a great guy. He and Aria seemed to have a lot in common, and he seemed like a compassionate guy, not like most jerks walking around on campus.

"So, do you know what you are going to do on your date?" Spencer asked curiously as to what the two of them had planned.

"I have no idea. Ezra told me he would text me the details, so I guess I just have to wait for him to text me. But Spence, I´m a little nervous what if he doesn´t enjoy the date? I mean, what if he thinks I´m boring?" Aria asked, genuinely afraid for something like that to happen.

"Aria, ofcourse he is going to enjoy himself. You are the most amazing person in the whole world. It´s Obvious that he likes you, he wouldn´t have asked you out if he wasn´t sure you were a good company to him." spencer replied, meaning everything. She genuinely thought Aria was an amazing person, they had been best friends for years.

"Thanks Spence, I needed that. So how was your night?" Aria asked, feeling a little selfish for only talking about herself.

"It was fun, but I´m getting a little tired of random one night stands." She replied.

"You, Spencer Hastings, are tired of one night stands? Somebody punch me, I think I´m dreaming." Aria replied, laughing at her own joke.

While Aria and Spencer got ready to go to school, Ezra returned to his room. Only to be greeted by Hardy. Who gave him an amused smirk. "So, Fitz where were you last night?" he asked, he was rather curious. He knew Ezra had never slept with a girl before, and he didn´t think Ezra would just randomly lose that to be with some girl.

"I spend the night at Aria´s. I know what you´re thinking, but I did not sleep with her." Ezra said. Hardy wondered if something had happened between the two of them, but knowing Ezra it probably didn´t happen. "I did, however, ask her out on a date." Ezra said, trying to hide the big smile on his face as he continued.. "She said yes."

Hardy was shocked to say the least. He knew Ezra liked Aria, but he was surprised his friend had actually asked her out. "Wow, that´s great, man. Didn´t know you had it in you. Did anything else happen?" by the look on Ezra´s face, it did.

"We kissed." He said, with a very big smile on his face. Although he was embarrassed to admit it, until the night before he had never kissed a girl. A part of him wondered if she knew it was his first kiss, but he didn´t think she noticed.

Hardy was even more shocked by this revelation. "You kissed her?!" Once his question was answered by a nod from Ezra, Hardy pulled his best friend in for a bro hug. "Congrats, man. So how was it?" He asked, curious as to how Ezra had experienced his first kiss.

"It was perfect. It felt like her lips were made to be on mine. I know you probably think I´m some romantic loser, but I don´t care. It´s the truth, it really was perfect." Ezra answered his friend, remembering the kiss from the night before. He could still feel her lips on his, her tongue caressing his. The moment had been so perfect.

"So, have you planned something for your date yet?" Hardy asked his friend, knowing this would be his first date.

Ezra now realised he had nothing planned, and that he had promised Aria he would text her the details. "I don´t have anything planned yet. I just want it to be perfect. Maybe I could take her out to dinner, and then afterwards we could go to that old movie theatre, with all the black and white movies?" He asked his friend, knowing Hardy would know what to do.

"Sounds perfect. I think she´ll love it." hardy replied, causing Ezra to smile widely.

"Okay, great. I´ll text her the details then." Ezra said, a little nervous but mostly excited. He couldn´t wait to go on a date with Aria.

 **So, please tell me what you think of the story so far. If you have any suggestions, let me know. x**


	4. Chapter 4

Friday had arrived, and Ezra anxiously waited for the time to pass so he could go on his date. He was shifting and turning, staring at the clock hoping that if he would look at it maybe time would go by faster. He had already changed 5 times, he had put on body spray 3 times, he had showered 2 times, and he had combed his hair so many times he couldn´t even remember how many.

He was supposed to pick her up at 6, and it was now half past 5. Although he had been ready since 5 O´clock. He was very nervous about this date, since it was his first date ever. But he was mostly very excited to go on this date. He could tell they were probably going to have a lot of fun together. First they were going to eat some dinner, in a restaurant called The brew. Then later on they were going to this old movie theatre, which only showed black and white movies.

Both things were liked by Aria, Ezra made sure of that. He had asked Hardy about a Thousand times if he was sure that the ideas he had for the date were what Aria like. After a while, Hardy had just decided to ignore his questions knowing Ezra wouldn´t stop otherwise.

Hardy was planning on having the talk with Aria soon. The best friend talk to be exact. As Ezra´s best friend, it was his job to protect him and look out for him. Ofcourse he was a grown man, and could stand up for himself. But still Hardy felt the need to make sure Ezra was happy, and he wanted to sure Aria was going to make him happy.

After what seemed like forever, it was finally time for Ezra to pick up Aria. He looked in the mirror one more time. He was dressed very neatly, and he had made sure his hair was combed. When he felt sure of himself, he headed towards the door.

"Goodluck. And text me if you are not going to be home tonight." Hardy said to his friend, a small smirk on his face. He knew Ezra was probably not going to sleep with Aria, and he felt comfortable enough to tease his best friend a little about the situation. He wondered if Aria knew Ezra was still a virgin, but it wasn´t his place to ask.

"Thanks. I´ll see you later." Ezra replied, ignoring his friends joke. He didn´t want to think about it. Ofcourse he had thought about sex, well sex with Aria. But not this early, when he had only known her for a few days. That would be too soon. He wanted to make sure he loved her, before doing something like that.

Meanwhile Aria was waiting on Ezra, who could be at her door any time. She was a little nervous too, it was the first date she had in a while, and she wondered if she was good enough company for a date. She looked in the mirror, taking a good look at herself. Her black dress seemed to look good on her, and she was feeling pretty confident.

"You don´t have to be nervous, Ar. It´s going to be fine." Spencer said, observing her friend who was looking at herself in the mirror for a while now. She knew it was fine. If she didn´t know better, she would worry about her friend. But she knew her best friend, and she knew the reason Aria was this nervous was because she really liked Ezra.

"I know, Spence. I guess I just have to get used to it again." She said, giving her friend a smile. She was so Lucky to have Spencer as her best friend, she Always knew what to say to make her feel better.

"But you are excited right?" Spencer asked, making sure she was right about her best friend. If Aria didn´t want to go on this date anymore, she would help her ofcourse. They had done something like that before, it was very awkward but for her best friend she would do anything.

"Yeah, Ofcourse I´m excited. I´m really looking forward to it. I don´t know how to explain it, but being with Ezra is just amazing. I´ve only known him for a few days, but I feel as if I´ve known him my entire life." Aria said, still a little curious as to what this amazing feeling was. It couldn´t be love already right?

Their conversation was interruppted by a knock on the door, telling them Ezra had arrived. Spencer gave Aria a supportive smile, while walking to her room, giving the two their privacy. And so Aria walked over to the door, and opened it to a very stunned Ezra.

"Wauw, You look beautiful." ezra said, although that was an understatement. She looked absolutely breathtaking to him, his heart skipped a few beats and he found it hard to tear his gaze off of Aria. Aria blushed a little, flattered by him compliment. She also noticed his stare, and it made her feel good. Atleast this way she knew for sure he meant it.

Once Ezra managed to tear his eyes off of Aria, he handed her the flowers he had bought. He made sure those were her favorites, it was pretty hard to find out. But stalking her instagram and pinterest had really helped to figure that her favorite flowers were pink roses. Aria blushed and thanked Ezra for the flowers, and then put them in a vase.

"Shall we go to dinner then?" Ezra asked. He gave her a smile, which she returned. "Sounds like a plan, Fitz." she answered, making him laugh a little at the nickname she had given him. He wondered if he should tell her Fitz wasn´t exactly his real last name, but he decided he would tell that story another time. He didn´t want to ruin the moment.

"We could take my car or we could walk. It´s not far from here, so both would be fine. What would you rather have?" He asked her, finding her opinion more important than his own. "Let´s walk, the weather´s nice." she told him, and so they made their way to the restaurant.

"I made us a reservation at the Brew by the way, I´m not sure if I told you that already. They have a lot of French food, and Hardy told me you liked that, so.." he started rambling, because he was a little nervous. She looked so gorgeous, and he felt as if she was too good for him.

"Sound amazing, Ezra. Thank you. You´re so sweet." Aria smiled at him, wanting to hold his hand. Yet she stopped herself from doing so, she didn´t want to scare him off right away. But she wondered what it would feel like to hold his hand in her own. Would it feel as good as when they had kissed? Would she feel the same sparkle she felt last time they touched?

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the restaurant. Once they sat down, and ordered food they decided to have a real conversation. " So, You are an english major too? Ezra asked, picking a subject he was familiar with. She smiled at his question and answered. "Yes, I´m an english major too. I have Always had a passion for english, especially the reading and writing part. My parents are both english teachers too, so that must be part of the reason I love it so much."

"What about you? Why did you choose english as a major?" She asked, genuinely interested in why he had chosen english as a major.

"Well, same as you. I just really love english. Especially the reading part. I like writing too, but it´s not something I´m good at." He replied, with a smile on his face. "Are you good at writing?" he asked her.

"Well, I don´t know if my work is any good. But writing has never been a problem for me, I like pouring my feeling onto the paper." She said, genuinely happy to talk about her writing. She had never told anyone she liked to write, but somehow she had no problem telling Ezra.

"Maybe you would let me read some your writing sometime?" Ezra asked, hoping he didn´t come off too forward. He was just really curious as to what kind of things she wrote about.

"Yeah, I´d like that." She replied, smiling at him. Their conversation was interruppted by the waiter, who came to bring the food they had ordered just a little time before. They thanked the waiter and continued their converstation.

"So, Do you like our College?" Aria asked Ezra. She wondered if he actually liked it, because she had never seen him around campus and Hardy told her his roommate didn´t go out much.

"Yeah, I like it. It has great teachers, and they really care for our education." Ezra answered.

"I don´t mean just the education part of college, Ezra. Do you like the campus, the people, the parties?" Aria asked, although she suspected his answer would be no. He didn´t seem like that type of guy.

Ezra considered lying for a moment. He wanted to tell her he enjoyed the parties, that he liked all the people. But that would be a lie, and it wouldn´t be fair to either of them.

"To be honest, I´m not really the party type. Don´t get me wrong, I like to go to a party every once in a while, but only ocassionally. As for the people, I see a lot of jerks walking around here. But there are also people like you, Spencer and Hardy so that´s a difficult question. And I like the campus, but the smaller parts of it. For example that one little bookstore on the outskirts of the campus." he said.

"I know that one, It´s called Books and beans, right? She asks him with a sparkle in her eyes. She didn´t seem like she was dissapointed by what he had just admitted and Ezra felt a little relieved. He nodded in response to her question.

"And just so you know, It´s completely okay if you´re not into partying. I like going to parties, but not all the time. Sometimes I just want to grab a good book, and some coffee and read all night long." She admitted. She only liked Ezra more now she knew he wasn´t the party type. Most guys that she met at those parties, turned out to be jerks.

"I know the feeling." he laughed, he felt comforted by her words. She was absolutely not taken back by his confession, and she didn´t seem to mind his preferance for other things than partying. He couldn´t help but smile at her, which earned him a smile back.

During the rest of the dinner they discussed which authors they liked, their favorite books, their favorite movies and more things related to their shared interests. It was going really well, for both of them.

"So, we should probably get going if we want to catch that movie." Ezra said, a little sad they had to leave the restaurant. But atleast they were going to see a movie together, so they didn´t have to say goodbye to each other just yet. "You´re right." she replied.

Ezra signalled to a waiter and asked for the bill. When he got money out of his pocket and lay it on the table ready to leave, Aria spoke up. "I´ll pay my own half." she offered, she didn´t want him to think she couldn´t take care of herself. She knew he probably didn´t see it that way, but after her past relationships she didn´t want to rely on anybody too much.

"It´s my treat." Ezra said, wondering why she would want to pay. He asked her out after all. He gave her a smile, which she returned but smaller than his. He couldn´t help but feel as if he did something wrong and added. "Really, It´s no problem. Aria, I asked you out so it´s more than logical for me to pay."

She was a little relieved Ezra was being so nice to her. She overreacted to something as small as paying the restaurant bill, but she couldn´t help but feel a little restless still. "Okay, but I´ll pay for the movie, okay?" she offered, making herself feel a little better.

Ezra noticed Aria really wanted to pay for some reason, and decided to agree. He really didn´t mind paying. Ofcourse he wasn´t exactly rich, although he could have been if he hadn´t gotten into a fight with his mother. But he was fine with paying for Aria. She deserved to be treated like a princess.

They started walking towards the movie theatre, which was about a ten minute walk. They had more than enough time, so they walked in slow pace. Ezra noticed Aria was shivering a little, and immediately took of his jacket. He put the jacket over her shoulders, which earned him a smile from aria and a kiss on the cheek.

Aria and Ezra were both a little shocked by the kiss on the cheek. Both liked it, they couldn´t deny that. But it was the first intimate touch they had shared that night, and both felt happy that the gesture was received well.

Once they got to the movie theatre Aria bought them both tickets for the movie Chinatown. They went into the cinema room their movie was being portrayed and choose a seat. It was relatively quiet for a Friday night, but they figured most people were out partying right now.

Soon after they sat down, the movie started. Ezra tried to focus on the movie, but it was hard to do so, when this beautiful girl was sitting next to him. He kept staring at her, hoping she didn´t notice.

But she noticed. She kept staring at him too, wondering why such a cute guy as him was on a date with her. He was so smart, nice, funny and he was sexy. Every once in a while her eyes would land on his lips, aching for her to kiss him. She felt an arm around her shoulders, and it made her feel comfortable. She liked the feeling of his arms around his.

Ezra wondered if he should kiss her. He really did want to kiss her, the last time he kissed had been amazing. He leaned in a little closer to her, hoping she would too. She did. And soon their lips were touching. He smiled a little into the kiss, he couldn´t help himself. He brushed his tongue against her bottom lip asking for entrance, which she granted him.

After a few minutes of passionate kissing, they pulled away from each other. Both were a little out of breath from their heated make-out session. Ezra rested his forehead on hers, and smiled into her eyes.

"You´re a good kisser." she said to him. She had never kissed anyone with that much passion before, and it was amazing. She wondered if he felt the same way about her.

"You´re an even better kisser." He said, smiling at her. He wondered if he should tell her she was his first kiss, but he didn´t want to scare her off. She would probably think there was something wrong with him if he told her that.

The rest of the movie was spend with Aria´s head rested on Ezra´s chest, and Ezra´s face buried in her hair. Every once in a while they would kiss again, giving both a sparkle through their whole body. But just like their dinner, the movie eventually ended, and that mean they had to go back to their rooms.

Being the gentlemen that he was, Ezra walked with Aria to her dorm room. When they were walking back, Aria slipped her hand into his, causing his heart to skip a beat. He doubted he could ever get used to the amazing feeling he got whenever he kissed or touched her.

Once they arrived at her front door, Aria stood up on her toes and placed her lips on Ezra´s. Soon their tongues were battling for dominance again, as Aria ran her fingers through his hair. When the kiss began to get more heated, she pulled away and seductively asked; "Do you want to continue this inside?"

Ezra considered it for a few seconds, but realised that even though he was falling for this girl, he didn´t want to do _that_ just yet. But how was he going to say that without hurting her feelings and without telling her he was still a virgin.

"Look Aria, I think we should take it slow." he decided to say, and immediately regretted his words when he saw the dissapointment on her face.

She felt a little ashamed of herself, did he not like her as much as she thought he had? "Do you not like me that way?" she asked hesitantly, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. She was really falling for him already, and it would hurt her if he didn´t feel the same way.

"No, ofcourse I like you that way. You´re gorgeous." He said, using his finger to lift her chin up so she was looking into his eyes. "I just feel like we should get to know each other better before doing that." he said, hoping she understood. He really did like her, and he didn´t want her to think ´he didn´t.

Luckily for him she understood what he was saying. She should have expected it from him. He didn´t seem like the type of guy to just have sex with a girl he only met a few days ago. She admired him for that, for having respect for women. "I get it, you´re right."

"Maybe we could do this again soon?" ezra asked, really hoping she would say yes. He had a great time, and he didn´t know what he would do if she said she didn´t want to do it again. He already had an idea for their next date. They could go to coffee and beans, there would be a reading there soon and he knew Aria would love it.

She smiled. "I would love to do this again, Ezra." she answered, happy he asked her out again. That must mean he liked her back. "Goodnight, Ezra." She said, giving him a small kiss and then a hug which he happily returned.

 **So, what do you guys think of this chapter/story? If you have suggestions, let me know. I´ll try to update soon, but I´m a little busy.**


	5. Chapter 5

Aria walked inside after saying goodbye to Ezra only to be greeted by a grinning Spencer. Spencer had decided to stay home for a change, and had a fun night with Hardy. She and Hardy had discussed how cute of a couple Ezra and Aria would make. So Spencer was rather curious as to how the date went.

"So, how did it go? I had expected you and Ezra to be all over each other in the bedroom by now?" She teased her best friend, something they Always did to each other. She wasn´t surprised Aria and Ezra weren´t having sex right now, Ezra seemed like a good guy. But she was hoping their date went well, because she thought Ezra would be good for Aria.

"It was amazing, Spence. We had dinner and went to see a movie. Ezra is so sweet, and an amazing kisser. I really like him." She said with a very big smile on her face. She really did have an amazing night, and she realised she was falling for Ezra. She had only known him for a few days, but she felt good and comfortable around him. She could see herself being around him all the time.

But a part of her wondered if he really felt the same way, ofcourse he could have rejected her just because he wanted to wait. But what if he had rejected her because he didn´t want to sleep with her? What if he didn´t feel the same way? What if he regretted asking her out?

Aria realised what she was doing and immediately stopped, if he regretted it he wouldn´t have asked about doing it again. He wouldn´t have kissed her like that, if he didn´t like her. She was just being insecure. Being insecure was something she only did when she really like a guy. And although it was normal, it also scared her a little. Because the two guys she had actually been in love with before, had broken her heart into a Thousand tiny little pieces.

Luckily she realised Ezra wasn´t a jerk, and he wasn´t going to break her heart on purpose. So she was going to let herself fall for him, even though she was risking breaking her heart.

"That´s great, Aria. I´m happy for you. I totally ship you guys. I´ll just have to come up with a good shipname for my new otp." Spencer giggled, making Aria laugh. They would Always make fun of fangirls, but deep down they had a little bit of fangirl in them themselves. "I know what it could be, Ezria." spencer exclaimed, proud of herself for coming up with such a nice shipname.

The girls ended the night drinking some hot chocolate, and eating marsmallows. Meanwhile Ezra just came home from his date, hoping he could escape to his room before catching Hardy and some girl in the act. But surprisingly, Hardy was sitting down on the couch reading a book. Ezra felt like he was in a complete different universe. Because the Hardy he knew would never read a book.

"Am I dreaming or are you really reading a book?" Ezra asked his friend. To which he received a look from Hardy and a small laugh. "No, you are not dreaming Fitz. I am actually reading a book, Spencer recommended it to me." Hardy shrugged, as if it was the most normal thing in the whole world.

Ezra wondered if Hardy had feelings for Spencer. He saw the way Hardy looked at Spencer, and it was a way Hardy normally didn´t look at girls. But it could be just platonic feelings for a friend. It would be rather fun if Hardy and Spencer would date, so then he and Aria could double date with them.

"So, how was your date?" hardy asked, he was dying to know how his best friend had experienced his first date. He had helped Ezra prepare for the date, so if the date went well, it would be rather good for his ego.

"It was wonderful, She is perfect. I had so much fun. I can´t even begin to explain this amazing feeling I have whenever I think of her. Everytime we touch or kiss, I feel my whole body sparkle." Ezra said with a smile on his face.

Ofcourse Hardy knew the feeling Ezra was talking about. It was love. Hardy himself had been in love before, something that often ended in heartbreak. Ezra had been there for him through out all his heartbreaks, but Hardy wondered if Ezra understood why Hardy would be so depressed after a break-up.

"Sounds like you´re in love with her." Hardy said, causing his friend to look at him with wide eyes. But Ezra knew his friend was right, this feeling he had was the feeling that was Always described as love. But wasn´t it too soon to be in love already?

"Yeah, I guess I am. But isn´t it too early for that?" Ezra asked, genuinely wondering if it was normal for someone to fall in love with someone in less than a week. It was something he´d never experienced before, and he wondered what was going to happen next. He wanted nothing more than to go out with her again, make her his girlfriend. But he didn´t want to seem desperate, he didn´t want to push her away.

"Ezra, It´s never too early for love." Hardy said. He started laughing once he realised he sounded like he was in some romantic sob movie. "Seriously dude, if you like her just go for it." He genuinely believed Aria and Ezra were perfect together.

"Yeah, you´re right. Thanks. I think I´m going to text her to ask if she wants to go to that reading in Coffee and Beans on Sunday." Ezra said, hoping she´d say yes, because he really wanted to spend more time with her. And that reading would be the perfect date, it was something they both enjoyed and had talked about before.

"So, you said something about touching and kissing?" Hardy asked his friend, with a smirk on his face. He realised they hadn´t slept together, because Ezra wouldn´t be home otherwise. But he loved to tease his friend about it. Ofcourse sometimes it was a sensitive subject, but he knew that if Ezra really had a problem with talking about it he would tell him.

"We kissed a few times, and we held hands. But that was it, sorry for dissapointing you." Ezra replied with a teasing smile on his face. He wondered if he should tell his friend that she wanted to, but Hardy would probably think he was an idiot for rejecting her.

"So, nothing else happened?" hardy asked, wanting to make sure. He didn´t want to miss talking about his friends first time.

"Well, she wanted to. But I kinda rejected her. In a nice way, ofcourse. I like her, but I don´t want to jump right into bed with her." Ezra said, hoping his friend wouldn´t rub it in. He still felt kind of torn about it. But he knew that he did the right thing, by wanting to take it slow. He could imagine it happening between the two of them later on.

"Seriously? Dude, What´s your problem, she´s hot! Hardy almost shouted, but once he saw Ezra angry glare he realised he shouldn´t have said that and decided to save himself. "No, just kidding. I get it." A part of him really did get it, he understood why Ezra didn´t want to sleep with Aria after a few days.

"Yeah, right." Ezra said a little annoyed with his friend, although he knew he shouldn´t be. He decided to just go to bed, but first he was going to text aria.

He checked the website of Coffee and Beans, to make sure he was right about the reading on Sunday. He really was right, there was a reading on Sunday. He texted her goodnight, and asked her if she wanted to go to the reading on Sunday. To which she responded she would love to. So that made Ezra fall asleep with a smile on his face.

Sunday arrived too slowly for Ezra´s liking. He couldn´t wait to go to the reading with Aria, who he hadn´t seen on Saturday. She was all he thought about since Friday, the way she looked, the way she talked, the way she walked, the way she laughed, everything about her made him smile. He couldn´t think of anything that wasn´t good about her. She was so flawless, it was like she wasn´t even real.

He was on his way to Aria, this time instead of pink roses he had brought her red roses. Red roses were romantic, right? He just hoped she would appreciate the gesture, and notice the romantic intention behind it. He was hoping that if things went well, he would soon be able to call the beautiful Aria Montgomery his girlfriend. That seemed to be more important than anything else in his life right now. She had pushed away all of his other thoughts and feelings.

He knocked on her door, a little too loudly maybe. He could hear some shuffling and after a few moments the door was finally opened, revealing Aria. She was dressed rather nicely, and had a big smile on her face. Ezra could smell her perfume from where he was standing. He handed her the roses, which she gladly accepted. Shr surprised him by pressing her lips against him for a few seconds, making his heart flutter. Once her lips parted his, she blushed and giggled.

A small smile formed upon his face because of her bold move. His eyes roamed over her petite body, taking in the perfect sight before him. She noticed his eyes going over her body, which caused her cheeks to redden. Ezra was amazed at her ability to look so good while wearing those simple clothes.

Aria was very excited about this date, and now that she was standing so close to him she remembered why. Her heart was beating faster everytime he got close to, her stomach was filled with butterflies everytime she so much as thought about him. She hadn´t felt like this for a very long time, and to have this feeling back in her life was thrilling.

"Shall we go, we don´t want to be late." Ezra said, finding it hard to stop staring at his beautiful date. If things went well he wouldn´t have to call her his date soon, and he could start calling her his girlfriend. He couldn´t even imagine what it would be like to have such an amazing girlfriend as her.

"Yeah, let´s go. I´m so excited for this reading." Aria exclaimed. She grabbed Ezra´s hand and together they started walking towards the coffee place, which both frequently visited. They were both addicted to coffee, and to combinate coffee with books was something the two of them thought was extremely briljant. The weather was rather dissapointing, and they found themselves running over to the coffee place to save themselves from the rain.

They arrived at the coffee shop rather wet, and extremely out of breath. Both started laughing, looking at how ridiculous they looked. Aria once again stood up at her toes, and kissed Ezra full on the lips. The kiss was hungrily returned, their lips dancing with eachother. Their hearts were beating pretty fast, and both felt the same sparkle they felt everytime they kissed.

After a few minutes of passionate kissing they walked inside, their hands still holding onto each other. It felt good for both of them, to walk in together. Ezra felt good to show his date off, she was way out of his league. Aria felt safe and loved with Ezra.

Once they both sat down somewhere in the back of the coffee shop, Ezra helped Aria take off her coat. He offered to get both of them some drinks, and she accepted his offer. He walked over to the front of the shop, to order some coffee for the two of them. He greeted Mrs. Rose, the owner of the shop he had gotten to know over the years.

Mrs. Rose greeted his enthusiastically, and tried to hide her curiosity as to why Aria and Ezra were here together. She knew both quite well, since they were two of her most frequent visitors. Somehow the two had never bumped into each other while visiting the coffee shop, something that frustrated her. She thought the two of them would make a lovely couple, but she didn´t want to intrude.

"So, I didn´t know you and Aria were friends." She said, hoping he was going to give her an explanation. And hopefully tell her, they were more than just friends.

"Well, I have only known her for almost a week now." He said, with a bright smile on his face, proudly stating the next. "We´re on a date right now."

"Good to hear. Enjoy your date." she told the young man, handing him the two coffee´s he had ordered, together with two pieces of key lime pie.

Meanwhile, Aria was waiting on Ezra to return from getting coffee. Only to be greeted by some blondhaired lean guy, that decided he could come sit next to her. His eyes roamed over her body, making her a little uncomfortable. She didn´t like his stare the way she liked Ezra´s. Although she had to admit, he was pretty handsome. She couldn´t feel any type of attraction towards him. Now she was getting rather impatient with waiting on Ezra´s return.

"Well hello there, pretty girl." The guy said, making Aria want smack him in the face. She hated when guys talked to girls in such a way, it was just plainly disrespectful. She decided to just ignore, he wasn´t worth the attention.

Ezra returned to their table, but was a bit taken aback by some attractive blonde guy sitting next to Aria. The guy was obviously attracted to Aria. Normally Ezra would have been rather jealous, but there was no need to. Aria was absolutely not amused by the way the guy was looking at her, and once her eyes caught sight of him he could see her sight in relief.

"Well, you should go. My boyfriend needs that seat." Aria said to the blonde guy, making clear she wasn´t interested. To hear her call him his girlfriend was something that made Ezra´s heart flutter. Did she really just call him her girlfriend? The guy got the hint, and slowly walked away.

Ezra said down a grinned at Aria. "Your boyfriend?" To which Aria quickly responded by saying, "Yeah, sorry I just said that because that guy was annoying. I get it if you don´t want to label whatever it is we have. She started rambling. Her fastened mumbles were stopped by Ezra softly pressing his lips to hers, shutting her up. Once he pulled away he looked into her eyes, and said; "I would love to be your boyfriend, Aria."

She smiled and said; "Well, that´s great. Because I really want to be your girlfriend." After that she reattached her lips to his, making him moan softly because of how much passion she poured into the kiss. Ezra couldn´t believe she was his girlfriend, she was so perfect.

The reading passed by rather quickly for Ezra and Aria. Most of the time they were kissing, staring at each other, and listening carefully to the smart remarks the other made. They were in their own little bubble of happiness.

Once they exited the coffee shop, the rain had stopped, giving them time to walk hand in hand without having to exhaust themselves by running. Both loved the feeling of their hands in each other, as if they were made for one another. This whole experience was new for Ezra, and he enjoyed himself. He had never expected it to feel this good. He could have never imagined feeling this great about himself.

Unfortunately both had a lot of homework to do for the day after, since it was a Monday. So after they both kissed each other goodbye, they each made their way home, both still feeling excited because of the date and their new relationship.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a week since Ezra and Aria were officially a couple, and they had seen each other each day. They just couldn´t be away from each other. Both found themselves reluctant to leave each other when they knew they had to go. Time passed quickly when they were together, and each of them found they enjoyed life more now they had each other.

There had been a sleepover, but that had meant they actually went to sleep. Ezra hadn't told Aria yet that he had never had sex before, it's not that he was ashamed to tell her, he just didn't know when the right time to tell her was. They had never discussed whether the other had been in relationships, but Ezra knew she had been in atleast one. Although he didn´t know the details of that relationship. Ofcourse it bummed him out a little that he wasn´t her first love, but he had accepted it.

The time the two spend together mostly consisted of them lunching together, watching movies together, eating dinner together, and they even went to a party together with Hardy and Spencer. Although the party had not been a huge succes. Ezra tried to pretend to like the party, while Aria knew Ezra well enough to know he didn´t. Luckily for him Aria was kind enough to get him out the crowded house party, and into her apartment where they ended the night with a movie.

Both couldn´t believe how much they were like each other. They both enjoyed the same music, books, movies, and they both shared their love for english. Ezra was one year ahead of Aria in college, so he was able to tutor her. They challenged each other with their own ideas on english books and authors. In a way both believed they were soulmates. Their feelings for eachother were so strong, so passionate, each one believed it was more than love.

They both knew they loved each other, yet not one of them had said it to the other. Aria wanted to tell Ezra she loved him, but she was still a little afraid. The last two times she had told someone she loved him, she ended up with a broken heart. And in Jason's case, also some broken bones. She knew Ezra wasn´t like that, he was kind and he would never do anything to hurt her. But she was still a little afraid, he wasn´t going to say it back. She liked to believe he loved her back, she believed the way he looked at her proved he loved her, but she could never be sure.

Ezra was also a litte afraid of saying those words to Aria. He loved her so much, and it would hurt him a lot if she didn´t feel the same way. Also, he wasn't sure if it was normal to declare your love for someone if you´ve only dated them for a week. He had never told anyone he loved them, well except for his friends and some family member, ofcourse.

It was a Monday, and that meant they had to go to their classes. For once, Ezra wasn´t walking Aria to school, since she had an early class. So Aria was walking alone to her classes that day. It might have been better if she hadn´t been alone. Because she wasn´t prepared for what she saw. She saw him.

Jason.

It had been a while since she last saw him. The last time she had spoken to him was when she had told him to leave her alone. Nobody knew what actually happened, only Jason and Aria knew what really happened. She knew she should have told someone about what happened to her, but when people had assumed it was an accident she didn´t have the strength to tell them otherwise. Oh how she wished it had been an accident. She remembered exactly what happened.

It happened when her and Jason had been dating for around 2 years. The first year Aria had actually been in love with Jason, and he was the first boy she had made love with. But after that year, Jason started act jealous and possesive. Each time Aria would talk to another guy, he would freak out and yell at her. After a while, he even started to hurt her physically. Not really serious, but every once in a while he would grab her arm a little too tightly, or push her on "Accident".

But one night, it escalated into something really ugly. She was staying at his house, and they were argueing. Jason was accusing her once again of cheating on him and he was furious. He had punched her several times, and out of anger he pushed her down the stairs. She ended up in the hospital that night, and everybody just assumed she had fallen down the stairs.

Eventually she ended things with Jason, confusing everybody around her. She didn´t feel safe enough to tell anybody what happened, Jason had threatened to hurt her if she did. After a lot of stalking from Jason, she had threatened to go to the police, if he didn´t leave her alone. And so he did.

But now he was here, and all those feelings of fear and hurt were starting to get to her again. Luckily for her, Jason passed by quickly, and didn´t notice her. Aria couldn´t help but wonder what he was doing here, and where he was staying. She didn't know what she would do if Jason was a student at the same college as her. The feeling of safety she had in this college now felt damaged.

After her class had finished and it was time for lunch break, Aria walked over to the park where she, Spencer, Ezra and Hardy were going to have lunch together. A smile formed on her face when she saw Ezra standing there, looking perfect as Always. He noticed her too, and walked over to her with a smile on his face.

Cupping her face with his warm hands, he softly pressed his lips against hers. They both felt the sparkle again, it only seemed to grow stronger the more they kissed. After their kiss they sat down next to Spencer and Hardy.

All of a sudden Spencer seemed to notice someone, because a smile formed on her face as she waved for someone to come over. Little did she know that her waving Jason over was going to upset Aria. It was the only thing Spencer didn't know about her best friend, Aria hadn´t told her because she was afraid and a little ashamed also.

Jason walked over to the group of four, and greeted them politely. Spencer stood up and happily hugged Jason. Ezra could see jealousy form on Hardy´s face, and he started to think maybe Hardy had feelings for Spencer. But Hardy was out of his mind, once he felt Aria tense next to him. He watched how her face turned into a frown, and she was shaking a little.

"Aria." Jason exclaimed. "Good to see you." Aria responded rather coldly by giving Jason a small and obviously fake smile. Ezra and Hardy were completely clueless as to who this guy was, and gave the girls a curious look.

"Guys, this is Jason. Jason, that´s Ezra and that´s Hardy." Spencer said, introducing the guys to each other. "Jason was our friend´s brother, and also Aria´s first boyfriend." Spencer giggled. This caused Ezra to tense, and he took a good look at the obviously handsome guy standing near his girlfriend. He knew he shouldn´t feel jealous, it was before she knew him. He wondered how long she had been with him, how much she had done with him.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ezra, Aria's boyfriend." Ezra said, giving Jason a friendly nod. He knew he probably sounded a little macho, but he wanted to make sure this Jason guy knew Aria had moved on. By the way he was looking at her, Ezra doubted if Jason had too.

"So, Jason what are you doing here?" Spencer asked Jason. She had Always liked Jason, and still didn´t quite understand why Aria had broken up with him. She had been very vague about the subject, and Spencer didn´t want to push her best friend.

"I live here now, on campus." Jason explained, which caused Aria to almost choke on her food. Ezra noticed Aria´s nervous behavior, and thought it was because it was her ex-boyfriend. He felt a little intimidated by the guy, he could never compete with her first love. He gently grabbed Aria´s hand giving it a small squeeze. She was obviously not comfortable, and Ezra wondered if it was normal for someone to act this nervous around an ex.

"I have to go now, but the three of us should catch up sometime." Jason said, and after receiving an exited nod from Spencer he walked away. Aria couldn't wrap her head around all of this. She didn´t want to be near him, she didn´t want him to be at the same college as him. She was strong, but not this strong. A lump formed in her throat, and tears formed in her eyes.

"I don't feel good, I'm going home." She said, trying to sound okay, but failing to do so. Ezra felt his heart break at the sight of an obviously distraught Aria. She stood up and started walking away, not wanting to seem so vulnerable in front of everyone. Ezra and Spencer quickly decided it was best for Ezra to follow her, and he immediately chased after her.

"Aria, wait. What's wrong?" he said, cathing up with her. She was walking pretty fast, trying to arrive to her room as soon as possible. "Nothing, I just don´t feel well." She didn´t want to bother Ezra with her problems, she didn´t want him to think she was helpless or mental or something. Or even worse, Damaged.

"There's obviously something that's bothering you. You can talk to me, I'm here for you." Ezra said, meaning every word of it. This was the girl he loved, the woman he had already imagined marrying. He couldn´t stand watching her so upset, and he wanted nothing more than to fix whatever was bothering her. "Please tell me what´s going on." He told her, once they had arrived at her apartment, where she fell into his open arms, hugging him as if her life depended on it.

The sounds of Aria´s sobs filled the room, breaking Ezra´s tried calming her down, by running his fingers through her hair, and kissing her forehead. After a few minutes of crying, Aria calmed down a little and got out of Ezra´s embrace. She sat down, while Ezra got her a glass of water.

"Tell me what´s bothering you. Maybe I can help you." He said, he was willing to do whatever it took to make her feel okay again. He also wondered what had caused her to be this upset. It probably had something to do with that Jason guy, since she started crying when he left. "Is it something about Jason."

The look in her eyes told him he was right, it was about Jason. "What about Jason?" he said, curious as to why seeing Jason had caused her to be this upset. All of sudden he realised maybe she was this upset about seeing him because she still loved him. If that was true, Ezra wouldn't know what to do with himself. He loved her too much to lose her to her ex. "A-are you still in love with him? he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Ofcourse I'm not in love with him, Ezra." she said, a little surprised he would even think she was. "But it is about Jason." she added. She decided she wasn't going to let Jason affect her life forever, she was going to tell Ezra what happened. She trusted Ezra, he would be there for her. He was a good guy, and he deserved to know why she was this upset.

"Jason was my first boyfriend, and the first person I ever slept with." Aria started, wanting to tell the whole story. Ezra flinched a little after hearing he was the first guy she slept with, but understood it was a part of her past. "The first year of our relationship, he was sweet and I loved him very much. But after we slept together, he started to become very jealous and possesive. One night it had gotten so bad, that he pushed me down the stairs." she said as she sobbed into his chest.

Ezra felt rage bottling up in his stomach. He couldn't believe someone would do that to Aria. She didn't deserve that. He wrapped his arms around her as she dug her head deeper into his chest. He wanted nothing more than to punch Jason right now, but he knew that wouldn't solve anything.

In an effort to comfort her, he was saying soothing words. "It's okay, he can't hurt you anymore." He ran his hands through her hair, which seemed to calm her down. Once she'd calmed down a little, she sat up straight, drinking the water Ezra had given her.

"Did he go to jail for what he did?" Ezra asked, wondering why Jason was walking around freely in the same college as Aria. Normally victims of abuse had the right to get restraining orders against their former abusers, and he was hoping Aria was going to get one. He didn't want to think about what Jason might do to her now that he was in the same college as her.

"No. Nobody knows what happened, except for me and Jason. Everybody assumed it was an accident, and I was too afraid to tell them it wasn't. " She said, feeling a little ashamed of herself. She knew she should have told somebody as soon as it happened, but she she was afraid. "I know I should have, but I just, I just couldn't okay? You're the first person I've told." she admitted.

"I understand why you didn't want to tell anybody then, but how about now? You could still go to the police, Aria." He said, not wanting to push her, but wanting to keep her safe. Ofcourse if Jason was ever to attack her, Ezra would risk his life for her, but what if he wasn't around? "They won't believe me, Ezra. Besides Jason probably changed." she said, trying to convince both Ezra and herself.

"If that's what you want, then that's fine. Just let me know if you change your mind, okay? I'm here for you, whenever you need me. I love you." He blurted out the last three words, and immediately regretted it. But that regret soon stopped when he heard her say; "I love you too, Ezra".

A smile formed upon his face, and both leaned in for a kiss. Both were extremely happy to finally have the confirmation that the other returned their feelings of love. After they pulled away from the kiss, they realised they still had classes to attend.

"How about after class, we go to dinner?" ezra suggested, wanting to celebrate this memorable moment in their relationship. He had planned on taking her to dinner this week anyways, and this was the perfect day for it. "Sounds great." she said, giving him a smile and a small kiss on the lips.

Ezra walked Aria to her class, and kissed her goodbye. Although his class was on the other side of campus, he was determined to walk her to class. Now that he knew how dangerous jason was, he wasn't going to give him any chance to be around Aria when she was on her own. He was going to protect her.

 **Sorry if this was a dissapointing chapter. Let me know what you guys think, and if you have any suggestions, let me know.**


	7. Chapter 7

It was Tuesday, and because of a change in schedule for Spencer and Ezra, Aria and Hardy were having lunch with just the two of them. For Hardy this was the perfect oppportunity for the talk with Aria. He trusted her, he really did. They had been friends for a while and he genuinely believed she was a good person. But especially the weird situation with that ex-boyfriend Jason made him doubt how much he really knew about her. He knew that for a long time she had multiple one night stands, when she found out about her ex Noel cheating on her.

So he knew she was a lot more experienced than Ezra was. Ezra was as unexperienced as a boy could be, and Aria had been his first kiss and his first girlfriend. Hardy was almost sure they hadn't slept together yet, Ezra would them him if he did. He wondered what Aria's intentions concerning her relationship with Ezra, he wanted to make sure she was serious about this relationship. He might be a little overprotective, but he had to be. Ezra was like a brother to him.

"So, how's everything going with you and Ezra?" he asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Obviously he failed to do so, because she gave him a strange look. He laughed a little, trying to act normal.

Aria quickly caught on to what Hardy was trying to do. He was figuring out whether she was good enough for Ezra. Sometimes she wondered if she was good enough for, he was so much more special than her. But she did love him, she knew it was really quick. She just couldn't deny that she loved him. She loved him more than anything. In the few weeks she had known him, he had changed her whole life

"It's going great. Ezra's really great." She said, smiling because she truly meant it. Ezra really was great. He was smart, he was funny, he was sweet, he was kind, he was caring, he was handsome, he was sexy, he was just perfect. She loved the way he would Always look at her as if she was a princess, the way his smile would brighten her day, the way he would talk with so much passion about books. He really was perfect.

"Good to hear. You right, Ezra really is a great guy. Aria, this may sound really stupid." he chuckled. "But please never hurt Ezra." he said, a little more serious. He really wanted to make sure she understood what he was saying.

"Hardy, I love Ezra. I would never want to do anything to hurt him. I don't think I could even be able to hurt him, I love him too much for that." she said, comforting Hardy with her words. "I know it's soon to say I love him, but I really do love him, Hardy." she said, hoping he believed her. Hardy was her friend, but he was Ezra's best friend. She wanted to make sure his best friend believed in their relationship.

"Aria, I believe you. I know he loves you too." Hardy said, relieved by Aria's words. "You guys really are perfect together." They really were perfect together. He could see the way they looked at each other, the way they were Always so happy around each other. He truly was happy for the two of them.

He knew about the last serious relationship she had, and how that had ended in heart break. And he knew she loved Ezra, but he also knew her well enough to know she was still a little afraid of getting her heart broken. After all, Noel did cheat on her. And cheating was something that could do permanent damage.

"Just so you know, I'm absolutely sure Ezra would never hurt you." He says, looking into her eyes to make sure she knew he was telling her the truth.

"I believe you." she replied.

Meanwhile Ezra was walking into his extra class which could give him extra credit. It was a project that was all about helping other students to get good grades. Two students would be paired up to help each other, and Ezra was curious to see who he would be signed up with. He hoped it would be a decent guy, because he knew a lot of guys on campus were selfish and irritating. Maybe Ezra would be Lucky and get someone who shared the same interests as him. Someone who liked english as much as he did, but he knew that would be unlikely because this program was to help people with troubles they were having. He'd probably get someone who needed help with their english.

Ezra walked up to the paper which stated the students they were assigned to. His eyes roamed over the paper, until he finally found his name written on the paper. He looked to see which name was besides his and saw his name. Jason dilaurentis. It has to be his luck to get paired up with the ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend. The guy that had pushed the love of his life down the stairs. The guy that had been her first. Sometimes he wondered what life had against him.

He considered to just walk away right then and there. How could he work with that guy without punching him in the face? How could he help him knowing what kind of guy he was. What would Aria think of him if he was just going to be friendly with her ex that assaulted her? He couldn't even imagine what that would do to her, it would probably hurt her a lot.

Once the supervisor came in and assigned them to their seats, Ezra could see jason. He took a seat next to him, and took his hand out. "Hi, I'm Ezra. We've already met." He said, and it was clear in his voice that he was not happy to talk to Jason. Jason shook his hand."Yeah, I'm Jason. You're Aria's friend, right?" he said, although he knew exactly what Ezra was to Aria.

"Not exactly. I'm her boyfriend." Ezra told him. Normally he would be proud to tell someone he was Aria's boyfriend. But in this moment he stated the fact more as a warning, to make sure he knew she was taken. He wanted him to know he had absolutely no shot at getting her back. It wasn't because he was jealous. Well, ofcourse he was jealous of the guy that was Aria's first. But now he just wanted to make sure Aria wouldn't be confronted by Jason, because he knew that it would hurt her.

"Lucky guy." Jason said with a smirk which sickened Ezra. He decided to change the topic, not wanting to hear Jason talk about his girlfriend.

"So, what do you need help with? There must be a reason we were assigned to each other." he said. It was probably something like english or poetry. Those were the things Ezra was good at. Ezra on the other hand needed help with his maths and physics, because if he continued the way he was now he would fail those classes. So he probably did need Jason's help.

"I need help with my English and Poetry. How about you?" Jason said, telling him exactly what he thought. He wasn't really looking forward to talking about english and poetry with Jason. Normally he would discuss those things with Aria and now he had to do it with her Ex-Boyfriend. The thought of it made him sick.

"Maths and physics. I fail those miserably." he replied. He didn't like Jason but he did need his help. He just wondered how he was going to tell Aria that he was working with Jason. What if she blamed him for it? What if she started to see him differently? What if she thought he actually liked Jason? He started wondering if telling Aria was really the best thing to do. Ofcourse he wanted to be honest with her, but it would only hurt her. She would worry about it more than was necessary. And what was the harm in not telling her?

The rest of the day Jason and Ezra worked together. They made a plan to help each other, and started explaining the other some things. Although they tried to be nice to each other, it was Obvious that they both strongly disliked each other. Well you could call it hate. Because that was what it was. They hated each other. Ezra hated Jason for being Aria first boyfriend, for hurting Aria. Jason hated Ezra for being Aria's boyfriend.

Yet they had to spend the next two months working together closely. Ezra had decided not to tell Aria about it. If she were to ask, he wouldn't lie. But he wouldn't tell her if she didn't ask. It was eating him up but he believed this way Aria wouldn't get hurt. Then she wouldn't have to doubt him, she wouldn't have to be afraid he was going to like jason, or believe Jason. Because he knew that she would do that.

Luckily for him the day finally ended and he made his way over to Aria's. They were planning on going out for dinner, that was somehow Aria's idea. Although Ezra loved going out with Aria, he also loved eating at Aria's. And he knew Spencer wasn't home so he wondered why she didn't want to eat at home. She insisted on going out tonight, and she told him she didn't want to go back to her place after. He wondered why she was acting so strange, but he believed she must have a good reason.

He knocked on her door, and heard some shuffling until the door finally swung open. But instead of Aria greeting him, it was a shirtless guy. The guy was handsome, but appeared to be a little younger than him. Ezra felt a knot in his stomach. Was this the reason Aria didn't want to stay home? Was she cheating on him? He could feel tears forming in his eyes and couldn't find any words.

He heard Aria's voice saying. "Mike, Who's at the door?" she pushed her brother aside and looked at Ezra. He was standing there looking extremely sad and she could see his eyes shining. She wondered why he was looking at her so strangely. She hoped nothing was bothering him. She was looking forward to their night out before her parents would stop by later. She loved their family, but they were exhausting sometimes. So she was looking forward to talking to her dinner with Ezra, to ease her worries about her family.

"Ezra, what's wrong?" she asked, wanting to know what was bothering him. She hated to see him upset.

Ezra was jumping to conclusions,and was starting to get angry. She cheats on him and then asks what's wrong. He was starting to wonder if they ever really decided they were exclusive. They were in a relationship, it was only logical to be exclusive right? "Who's this?" he asked, trying to sound as if he wasn't dying inside. Maybe he was just jumping to conclusions, and it was not what it looked like.

"Ezra, this is my brother Mike." she said, seeing his facial features soften and a smile form on his face. He felt a little stupid to even think she was cheating on him, she wasn't like that. "Mike, this is my boyfriend Ezra." she said with a big smile on her face. She hadn't planned on introducing Ezra to her family. Not because she wasn't serious about the relationship but because of her family. They were so protective of her, and never found any guy to be good enough for her. They would never say it to her face, but they said it without words. She could feel their judgement, and she didn't want them to make her feel insecure about her relationship with Ezra.

But Ezra meeting her brother wasn't a big deal. Mika was a nice guy, and she sure he and Ezra would get along just fine. She watched as the two shook hands and exhanged Nice to meet you's. She had told her little brother that she wouldn't be there for dinner, because she was going out and he hadn't asked her about it. She planned on telling Mike about Ezra, but just not the same day her parents were coming by. She and Mike didn't share the same opinion about their parents. And she didn't want him telling her parents.

"So what are we doing for dinner? I know we were supposed to go out, but if your brother is here, we can have a change of plans. Maybe your brother wants to join us for dinner?" Ezra asked wanting to be polite. He hadn't expected to meet Aria's family, but he couldn't say he was reluctant to. He was wondering what her family would be like. They had never really talked about their families with each other. Both of them had some troubles with their families that they didn't want to talk about.

"Yeah we could go to dinner together, if you want to Mike?" Aria said, happy about Ezra's sweet nature. She was reluctant to introduce Ezra to Mike at first, but now she realised she was proud of Ezra. And even if Mike was going to tell her parents, she wasn't going to let anyone change her feelings for Ezra. She loved him too much for that.

"Sounds good. Let me just change first." mike said, before walking away to leave Ezra and Aria at the door. "Why did you look so worried?" Aria asked, still curious as to why he looked so devastated. She grabbed his hand as a way to show him she was there for him, whatever it was he was dealing with. She hated seeing him so upset, and she hoped that he wouldn't hold back on telling her just because Mike was there.

"It was nothing. Okay, It's going to sound really stupid. But when I saw Mike standing there without a shirt, for a moment I thought he was some guy you slept with. I know I shouldn't have even thought about it. I'm sorry, I truly trust you. But in that moment, I wasn't thinking straight." he said, hoping she wasn't mad at him. He was supposed to trust her, and he really did. But the moment was just not what it looked like.

She now understood why he had looked so upset. She wasn't sure as to why he was apologizing. If she had seen a half naked girl answering his door, she would have probably thought the same thing. She cupped his face in between her hands and pressed her lips on his. "I would never cheat on you, Ezra. I think it's flattering you think I could get someone as cute as my little brother." she laughed, making him laugh too.

"So, why didn't you tell me your brother was coming?" he asked, wondering why she hadn't told him. She must have known longer, and it was probably the reason she wanted to go out.

"I don't know. I guess it just slipped my mind." she said, not even convincing herself with her lie. But before Ezra could ask her what was going on, Mike returned fully dressed. And the three of them made their way down to the restaurant.

 **So, what did you guys think? Tell me if you have any suggestions.**


	8. Chapter 8

Ezra, Mike and Aria walked to the restaurant. It was a silent walk, Mike was waiting for dinner to talk to Ezra. And Ezra, well he was just nervous. He wanted to make sure he impressed her family, and he didn't know how to do it. Aria never really talked about her family, she only mentioned a few small things. So Ezra didn't know what kind of people her family members were, and so he wondered how he could make sure they liked him. To Ezra, Mike seemed like a nice guy who was easy-going.

Mike wondered how long Aria had been in a relationship with Ezra. She had mentioned the name Ezra frequently the last few weeks, but he didn't really want to ask. He knew what had happened between her and Noel, she had been heart-broken. But now she seemed happy. She held his hand and looked lovingly into his eyes. He could tell she was in love with Ezra, and he was happy for her. Ezra seemed like a nice guy, although he was a little annoyed by the way he acted when he had opened the door.

They sat down at a table for three, and ordered some food and drinks. Aria was desperate to get a conversation started and she began talking; "So, Mike how's school going for you?" She knew he had some trouble at school, and hoped he was doing better. She really loved her brother very much, they had Always been close. Especially when their parents were fighting constantly, Mike and Aria were there for each other.

"I'm doing okay. It's not perfect, but it's better than it was before. I actually passed my maths test from a few weeks ago." He said with a proud smile on his face.

"That's good to hear, Mike. I'm proud of you. I know how difficult maths is for you." she replied, truly happy for her brother.

"You know, I'm terrible at maths, also." Ezra said, happy to have found a subject that he and Mike seemed to share the same opinion on.

"Looks like we have that in common, then." Mike chuckled, he wasn't ashamed of his lack of knowledge of maths.

"So, are there any subject you like?" Ezra asked, wanting to keep this conversation going.

"Well, If I'm honest. Not really. Well except for PE ofcourse. But no I'm not really into studying." he said, it was true. He had Always liked partying and going out.

Ezra was rather dissapointed that Mika and him didn't seem to share their love for english or studying. He just wanted to form a friendship with Mike. He could imagine Mike being his brother-in-law one day. Maybe it was a little quick to think that way, but he couldn't help himself, Aria was just perfect. She was everything he could wish for in a woman, so why would he ever break up with her?

"So, what kind of hobbies do you have?" ezra asked, hoping to find something else he and Mike had in common.

"Well, I like basketball, partying and football." Mike answered with a smile on his face. "What about you?"

"I like reading, watching black and white movies, cycling and hiking, and every once in a while I enjoy a good party." Ezra said, not wanting to lie to impress Mike. He wasn't going to keep that up.

Mike responded by smiling. "Well, Sounds like you are perfect for Aria."

This made both Aria and Ezra smile, and Aria softly kissed Ezra on the lips before putting her head on his shoulders. She was truly happy and proud to have Ezra as her boyfriend, and she could tell Mike liked him. She could also see that Ezra was nervous, so she squeezed his hand gently.

"How long have you guys been together?" mike asked, confirming for Ezra that Aria hadn't told him she was seeing someone. Ofcourse it dissapointed him a little, but then again he didn't exactly tell his parents or brother. Although that was mainly because he hadn't spoken to them in over a year. Ezra had broken all contact with his family when his mother went to far and tried to bribe his current College to not let him in. She thought this college wasn't good enough, and tried to do everything to keep Ezra from going.

Luckily he had Hardy, who acted more like family than his own family ever did. And now he had Aria, who he loved so much he forgot his family even existed.

"A few weeks now. We met, and a few days later we were together." Aria said with a smile on her face.

"I'm happy for you." Mike said, truly happy his sister seemed to have found a nice guy.

Ezra was relieved by Mike's statement. Mike seemed to like him, or atleast think he was suited for Aria. He really hoped that when he met her parents, they were going to like him too. Ezra knew that for most girls their parents opinions counted a lot, so if her parents didn't like him..

Once they had eaten their food, and talked some more Mike looked at his watch. "I think we need to get going soon, or mom and dad will be standing in front of a closed door." he grinned. Mike had really enjoyed the dinner, and was a little sad it had to end. But he couldn't just let their parents stand in a college dorm room for an hour. He knew Aria was aware of the time, but chose to ignore it.

Their parents had Always been judgemental about Aria's life. Whether it was about boyfriends, school, friends. He knew Aria was getting sick of it, but he knew his parents didn't mean to do it. They were just really protective about their only daughter.

"Your parents are coming too?" Ezra asked, a little confused as to why she hadn't told him all of this. He wondered if maybe she didn't want her family to meet him. But he figured it had something to do with her parents, and nothing with him. If something was wrong between the two of them, he was certain she would've told him face to face.

"Yeah, they're staying in a hotel nearby. Mike's staying with me." she said, avoiding his questioning eyes. She hoped he realised it wasn't about him, because she figured that was what he would think. She knew Ezra well enough to know that he had the habit over overthinking things.

"Oh, okay." Ezra said, not sure what else to say. He wasn't going to invite himself, if she didn't want that.

Aria noticed his uneasiness, and wondered if she should invite him. She really wanted to, because she truly loved him. And ofcourse she wanted her family to get to know him, but she was afraid what her parents might say. After some thinking she decided she wasn't going to let her parents come inbetween them, and so she asked; "Maybe you could come and meet my parents?"

"Yeah, I would love that." Ezra replied instantly, squeezing her hand. He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, careful not to be too passionate infront of her younger brother across from them.

"Well, let's go then. We don't want to keep them waiting." She said, standing up.

"Yeah, I'll just pay and then we can go." Ezra said, while putting the money on the table.

"You don't have to do that, Ezra. I can pay too." Aria said, she loved that Ezra wanted to be a gentleman. But she didn't think it was necessary.

"No, it's fine. I want to." Ezra said, putting an arm around his girlfriend while walking out of the restaurant.

They made their way over to Aria's dorm, and luckily for them their parents hadn't arrived yet. Aria made some coffee, while Ezra and Mike settled on the couch. Aria just finished making coffee, when there were a few knocks on the door. Aria sighed, knowing she had a long night ahead of her, and opened the door to greet her parents.

"Hi, honey." her parents exclaimed, embracing their daughter. They hadn't seen her in a while, so they were excited to have her in their arms again.

"Hi, Mom. Hi, dad." Aria replied, clearly not as happy as her parents to see them.

Her parents walked into her dorm room, which they had only seen once before. That was the day they dropped her and Spencer off on the first day of college. They noticed Ezra and looked at him a little curious as to who this guy was.

"Hi, Are you a friend of Aria?" Byron, Aria's dad, asked Ezra.

Before Ezra could say anything, Aria jumped in. "Actually, he's my boyfriend. Mom, dad, This is Ezra. Ezra, these are my parents. Byron and Ella."

Ezra held out his hand in an attempt to shake her parents hand, but the two of them looked at Aria rather strangely, before Ella finally decided to shake Ezra's hand. The tension in the room was Obvious. Aria's parents weren't happy Aria was dating again. After Noel they thought she would focus on school, instead of boys.

Aria cleared her throat, and eventually Byron also shook Ezra's hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Montgomery." Ezra said, only to receive a obviously fake smile from Byron.

Ezra couldn't help but wonder what he had done to receive this attitude from her parents. He felt a little embaressed, as if it was his fault they didn't like him. A wave a sadness washed over him, if it was up to him he would have to deal with them for a very long time. So why didn't they like him?

"Do you guys want coffee?" aria asked trying to avoid the awkwardness. After receiving a nod from her parents she walked over to the kitchen and poured them some coffee.

"So, Mike did you arrive here safely?" Byron asked his son, who he hadn't seen since that morning when he took him to the train station.

"Yeah, everything went fine. I slept here this afternoon, and Ezra took us out for dinner." Mike said, hoping that his parents would go easy on Aria's new boyfriend. Unlike Noel, Mike actually liked Ezra. They were two totally different people, so they were unlikely to be friends. But he liked the way Ezra looked at Aria as if she was his everything. That was all the wanted from Aria's boyfriends.

"Oh, that's nice. So Isn't it going to be crowded with the three of you tonight?" Byron asked, wanting to let Ezra know he wouldn't appreciate it if he stayed over.

"I won't be staying over, sir." Ezra said, hoping that it would someone make Aria's parents like him better. Maybe they assumed they weren't serious and just hooking up?

"Well, that's good." Byron said, and Ezra swore he could see a small smile on his face.

"Dad... " Aria started, giving her dad a warnful look. She wasn't going to let her dad behave this way to her boyfriend. Especially not in her own dorm room. She was a grown up, and she felt that he didn't respect her decisions.

Ella noticed the tension and decided to at least try and get to know Ezra. "So, How do you two know each other?" she asked.

"We met because of a Mutual friend. I think I mentioned him once, Hardy? Anyways Hardy introduced us, and we just hit it off." she said with a smile on her face. She was still so happy that Hardy introduced them, if he hadn't her life wouldn't have been as good as it was now. She hoped her parents would see that she was truly happy with Ezra.

"That's nice." Ella said, although it didn't seem very genuine. "Ezra, what's your mayor?" she asked, wanting to know more about this guy.

"English." Ezra replied, with a small smile. He knew that had to score some points, since he knew her mother was an english teacher.

"Same as Aria." Ella said, and a smile could be seen on her face. She loved english, so the fact that Ezra had english as a major, did make her like him a little more.

"Are you in the same year, or?" she asked, although she knew it probably wasn't the case.

"No, Ezra's a year older than me." Aria replied, a year between two lovers was nothing.

Aria handed Ezra a cup of coffee, which she unfortunately spilled all over his tshirt. "Omg, Are you okay? That must be really hot. Ezra, you have to pull off your shirt." She said, and helped him pull it over his head. She liked seeing him without a shirt, all that walking and cycling had given him a pretty toned stomach, something Aria enjoyed looking at.

"I think I have one of your shirts in my coset, should I go look?" Aria asked, knowing she couldn't let him stand there without a shirt.

"No, It's okay. I'll go look." Ezra said, wanting to be out of her dad's sight. Byron did not seem too pleased with the fact that Ezra had his shirt lying around in Aria's bedroom.

Immediately after Ezra walked out of the room, Byron turned to Aria giving her a dissapointed look. "I thought you would know better than to date again, Aria. It has only been a few months since Noel, and you should spent this time studying not going out with some random guy." he told her.

Unknown to the Montgomery's, Ezra could hear everything that was said in the other room and felt an ache in his heart. What if she agreed with her father? He was her father after all, and most people actually respected their parent's opinion.

"Are you serious right now, Dad? It's none of your business whether I'm dating or not. And Ezra isn't just some random guy. He is very sweet, and funny and kind and I love him. And just so you know, Ezra actually helps me studying." Aria said, quick to defend Eza. She knew her dad would do something like this, and she couldn't believe how selfish he was.

"You also said you loved Noel, but he turned out to be a cheater." Byron said, and it made him feel guilty once he saw Aria's reaction. Ezra couldn't help but listen to their conversation as he was searching for his shirt. How far could it be? They hadn't slept together yet, so it wasn't as if it had been thrown off. He couldn't believe it when he heard that Noel had cheated on Aria. Why would anybody cheat on Aria?

"Wow, that was low Dad. You know it's getting late, maybe you should just go." Aria said, not really wanting her parents to stay.

"Aria, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Byron said. He may be a jerk, but he did love his daughter. He didn't want to see her upset.

"Please just go, I'll see you tomorrow." Aria said, opening the door for her parents.

"Byron, it's probably best if we just go now." Ella said. She was sad she didn't get to spend much time with her daughter, but she understood that if they didn't go now, things might get even uglier. She hated how stubborn both of them could be.

"Okay, well we'll see you two tomorrow." Byron said, before walking out the door, leaving a teary eyed Aria.

Aria's tears made their way down her cheeks, while Ezra returned to the room. "Are you alright. I'm sorry, I could hear everything" he asked, taking her into a hug. He could feel his heart break at the sight of such a sad Aria. "It's okay." he whispered, kissing her forehead and running his fingers through her hair.

They stayed like this for a while, before Aria finally pulled away from the hug. "Thank you."she said softly, kissing him. Mike cleared his throat, feeling a little forgotten. They pulled away from each other, and Ezra looked at the time. "It's late, I should go." he said.

"You can stay, If you want." Aria said, not wanting to be away from Ezra just yet.

"You know, normally I would love to stay, but I told your dad I wasn't staying here. I don't want to give him a good enough reason to hate me, so I think I should go. But seriously, if you need anything you can call me, okay?" he said, but he doubted she would actually do that. "I'm serious. I'll even bring you chocolate at 3 a.m. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you." he said, kissing her again. He waved goodbye to Mike and walked out the door.

 **So, that was chapter 8. Please let me know what you think. I'm sorry if you think I made Byron and Ella look bad. I just don't really like them. I think Byron is a selfish man, who is a terrible father. I like Ella more now that she has divorced Byron.**


	9. Chapter 9

Aria was getting ready for a day she had to spend with her parents and Mike. She wasn't exactly looking forward to it, especially not since her dad said those mean things about Ezra. She couldn't believe he had actually done that. She loved Ezra, and her dad couldn't even respect that. The fact that he brought up Noel in their fight, made her even more furious. Noel was a cheater, a jerk, but she had loved him. Her dad knew how much it had hurt her to find out Noel had cheated on her, and it was like he didn't even care. Aria was confident that Ezra wasn't like Noel, and it was dissapointing to know her father couldn't see that too.

And now she had to spend the whole day with that jerk she called a father. And ofcourse her mother and her brother. She was relieved Mike was going to be there too, because without him she wouldn't be able to cope. She liked her mother a little more than her father, but she once told her she didn't even know who she was anymore. That had hurt Aria so much, and since then her relationship with her mother just wasn't the same anymore.

She wished she could bring Ezra with her today, they were going to visit a museum that Aria knew Ezra liked. But because her parents didn't approve of Ezra, she couldn't bring him with her. She didn't even understand why didn't like him. He had done nothing wrong to them. He had done nothing wrong to her. He had been kind, and respectful. He hadn't even slept with her yet.

Although she wished he had slept with her already. She started to doubt herself, because everytime she tried going further than just making out he stopped her. That raised doubts for her, was she not attractive enough to him? Ofcourse he claimed that he just wanted to wait until the right time, but maybe he just said that because he wanted to be nice.

She knew she shouldn't think that way, but she couldn't help herself. It's kind of hard not to doubt yourself when one of your ex-boyfriend's cheated on you, and the other one abused you. It makes you doubt yourself and everybody around you. You find it hard to trust people, because you believe most people will hurt you. With most people Aria would get this feeling of discomfort, although she tended not to show how she felt. However, with Ezra Aria would feel comfortable and safe. She trusted him, because he was one of the few people that didn't make her feel threatened.

"Aria, there here." Mike yelled, pulling Aria out of her thoughts. She was hoping she had a little more time, but apparently the universe didn't like her.

"I'm coming." she yelled back, obviously not looking forward to it.

She made her way to the door, where her parents were standing. Ella was pushing Byron forward, something she tended to do when she felt like Byron needed to do something eventhough he didn't want to.

"Aria, I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to bring up Noel. I know he hurt you, so bringing him up to prove a point... That wasn't fair, I know that." Byron said, although he was a little resistant.

Aria was happy to get a apology, but it wasn't the apology she was hoping for. She wanted him to tell her that he was wrong about Ezra. That he supported her and Ezra, and that he was happy for her. But apparently he wasn't going to give her what she wanted. So she decided not to push it.

"Thanks. So let's go to the museum." She said, dreading the rest of her day. Luckily her parents had planned a date night later on for just the two of them, so she and Ezra could do something fun. Mike had plans to stay over at a friend at the college, so she and Ezra could do whatever they wanted.

They made their way down to the museum, that was all about history and art. Her parents had decided they wanted to go there, so Aria went along. She had been planning on going there with Ezra, so going with her parents was less of a experience. But she had to take it, because they were her parents, so she had no choice.

Meanwhile, Ezra was using this day to study. He loved spending time with Aria, but it had taken time off of his studying. So, now he had to catch up on a lot of work, while Hardy sat next to him also 'studying'. What Hardy did couldn't exactly be considered studying, he just opened a book and put it in front of him. That didn't mean he would actually read anything. Most of the times, he would just pull out his Phone.

"So, what had you so upset last night. I wanted to talk to you, but you went straight to your room. Did you and Aria have a fight or something?" Hardy asked, a ltittle concerned about his friend.

"No, Her brother was at her place. He's staying there for a few nights. So, we went to dinner together with her brother. That actually went pretty well. I liked him, and he seemed to like me. However, Her parents were at her place when we got back. They are staying in a hotel nearby also for a few nights. Her parents don't like me. Not at all. They told her she shouldn't be dating, especially not since Noel cheated on her." Ezra rambled on, he was clearly stressed about the situation.

"That sucks, man. What did Aria say about it?" Hardy asked his friend, feeling sorry about his situation.

"She told him it was none of his business, and that she loved me." Ezra replied, a small smile on his face. He wouldn't know what he would've done if she had broken up with him because of her parents.

"Well, that's good right? If Aria doesn't care what her parents think, why should you?" Hardy said.

"Ofcourse she cares what they think. She might not listen to them, and she might not agree with them. But every girl wants her parents approval right? I just don't get it. What did I do to make her parents hate me? I was kind to them, I pointed out that I wasn't sleeping over, I took her brother with us for dinner, I just I want to know what I have to do to get them to like me. I mean it isn't fair that he compares me to Noel." Ezra said, a little angry at the situation.

"Well, Sometimes there's nothing you can do. They'll be gone in a few days, anyways." Hardy said, hoping to make Ezra less stressed.

"Yeah, but I plan on staying with Aria for a long time. And if that happens, I'm going to see them again. I don't want awkward holidays and birthdays." Ezra replied, knowing he maybe he sounded a little naïve.

"Well, you've gotta do your best then. Make them realise you're the right guy for her." Hardy said, and continued. "But do they just dislike you, or did that disapprove of Noel and that Jason guy too?"

Jason. With all the trouble with her parents, Ezra had completely forgotten about Jason. He felt a little guilty for hiding the fact that he was study buddies with Jason from Aria. But he was doing the right thing right?

"I wouldn't know. We don't really talk about that stuff." Ezra replied.

"Wait, Does Aria know she's your first girlfriend?" Hardy asked, now wondering if Ezra had even told her she was his first girlfriend.

"No, she doesn't. It's not that I am deliberately hiding it from her, I just don't know how to bring it up. I can't just randomly throw that into a conversation?" Ezra said.

"Ofcourse you can. Ezra, Aria loves you. It's not going to bother her that she's your first girlfriend. Actually I think it will be a relief. Nobody wants to imagine their boyfriend with another girl, and with you she doesn't have to." hardy said, making Ezra realise he's right.

"Yeah, You're right." Ezra said. He wanted to ask Hardy's advice about Hardy. But he knew that if he did, he would also have to tell about Jason's abuse. And he had swore Aria he would keep that secret. He wasn't going to break that promise to her. Plus, He knew that Hardy would tell him that he couldn't keep that from her.

After a few hours of walking around in a museum, Aria was finally out of the museum. Now all she had to do was survive dinner. Her parents had taken Mike and her to a fancy restaurant, that Aria noramlly wouldn't go to. But her parents didn't realise that their children weren't enjoying themselves.

"So, Aria. How are you doing in School?" Byron asked, hoping to relieve some of the awkward tension that was still there.

"I'm doing really well actually. I wrote this poem, and I got an A. It's also getting published in a local newspaper." Aria said with a big smile on her face. She was proud of herself, for achieving something so great.

"That's great, honey. You should let us read it." Ella said to her daughter, putting her hand on her arm.

"You know who else is in town, right now?" Byron said to his daughter. She looked at him as to say she didn't know, and so he continued, "Holden Strauss. He's moved here recently."

Aria knew where this was going. Holden was the one guy her father believed was good enough for her. She had known Holden and his family since she was a little kid, and her feelings for Holden had Always been and still were strictly platonic. So, she really hoped her father wasn't hoping on her and Holden to get together. She hoped he wouldn't have the nerve to bring up another guy, when he knew she was dating Ezra.

"You should meet up with him, show him the city. I think he would love to see you again." Byron said with a suggestive smile.

"Yeah, I could meet up with him. He is my FRIEND after all." Aria replied.

"Well, sometimes friendship can grow into something more." Byron said, making Aria really annoyed.

"Dad, Did you not hear me when I told you I loved Ezra? Because I really love Ezra, okay? He is amazing. If you would only take a little time to get to know him, you could see that yourself." She said, picking up her things. "You know what, I'm gonna go."

Luckily for Aria the restaurant was close to her room, so she wouldn't have to walk a long time. She was really pissed, and she was walking pretty fast. She just couldn't believe that he couldn't respect her decision. Why couldn't he see that she loved Ezra, and that he was a really amazing guy. Why couldn't he just make an effort to get to know Ezra, instead of immediately disliking him?

She texted Ezra to come over to her place earlier than they had planned, she just didn't want to be alone. She wanted to be with him.

As soon as Ezra read Aria's text, he stopped studying. He could tell something was wrong. She had plans with her parents, and it was too early for those plans to have ended already. He wondered if they had fought again.

He walked over to her room, and knocked on her door. She opened it almost immediately and let Ezra walk in. Ezra was used to being in her room, and decided to just make some coffee for them both. He could tell something was bothering her, so he sat down next to her, handed her a coffee and asked.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." she said. To which she recieved a look from Ezra telling her he knew something was wrong. "I meant, It's nothing you need to worry about."

"Aria, What's wrong? You can tell me." Ezra said, taking her hand.

"My parents are what's wrong. They don't like you. My dad started talking about a friend of mine moving here, and that maybe I could meet up with him. He was trying to fix me up, Ezra. He was trying to fix me up even though he knew I'm in love with you." Aria said, with a sigh.

Ezra was starting to get a little angry. What had he done to Byron Montgomery to deserve this. Byron didn't even know him, yet he choose to dislike him. And now he wanted her to get together with somebody else? He wondered who this guy was, but he knew better than to let his jealousy get the best of him right now.

"I'm sorry they feel that way. They probably just want to protect you, because they love you." Ezra said, although he knew better. He just wanted to comfort her right now.

"No, they don't want to protect me. They want to control me." She said, letting out another sigh.

Ezra didn't really know what to reply. Because he knew she was right. So he just pulled her in for a hug. She let her head rest on his shoulder, while he ran his fingers through her hair. He kissed the top of her head, something that Always seemed to calm her down.

After a few minutes, Ezra pulled away from the hug. "Aria, There's something I think you should know."

She gave him a worried look, and he realised how it must have sounded. "It's nothing you need to worry about, or anything. But I guess since I know all about your past, I think I should tell you about my past."

"I don't speak to my parents anymore. Nor do I speak to my brother. They are rich, and they don't approve of the way I live my life. When I told my mother, I was going to move here, She called the college to try and bribe them. She tried to pay them to reject me." Ezra said. The only person that he had ever told about his was Hardy, and now Aria knew too. He felt comfortable sharing this with her.

"Ezra.. I'm so sorry your mother did that." Aria said, and put a hand on his cheek.

"It's okay. I can deal with it. There's another thing I want to tell you. I-i have never been in a relationship before. Until I met you, I'd never kissed a girl before." Ezra stuttered. He knew she wouldn't Judge him, yet he felt ashamed to tell her.

A small smile formed on Aria's face. "So, I was your first kiss? That's kinda romantic, don't you think?"She said, while cupping his face and kissing him.

"You were the best first kiss a guy could ask for." ezra replied.

"So, Is that the reason you don't want to go further when making out? You can just tell me, I don't Judge you. It kinda makes me happy, knowing you haven't been with other girls. That means you're all mine." She said with a smile.

"Yeah, that's the reason." ezra said.

"Good, because I was starting to think you didn't like me."She blurted out.

"Aria, I like you a lot. And maybe sometime soon, we'll go there. Don't ever doubt how much I like you, how much I love you." He said, giving her a kiss.

"I love you too, Ezra." she replied.

They were interruppted by a knock on the door, and Aria gave out a sigh before walking over to the door, to open it. She couldn't believe it, he actually showed up infront of her door again. "Dad?"

 **So, please let me know what you think. And I really appreciate suggestions.**


	10. Chapter 10

Byron was standing infront of his daughter, who had messy hair, and swollen lips. Normally he would have been furious and yelled at the guy on the other side of the door, but right now he knew that that wouldn't solve any of his problems. It would only make things worse. Ella had been furious at him for picking a fight with Aria. So his wife now refused to let him into his own hotel room. He was allowed to come back once he had apologised to Aria.

This was not something Byron liked to do. He hated it. He didn't agree with Aria's decision to date Ezra, he didn't agree with a lot of things. And now he had to pretend as if he was okay with her decisions, which he wasn't. "Hi, Aria. Can I come in?"

Aria didn't trust her dad showing up at her door. She was certain he was up to no good, since just a few hours before he had tried to set her up with Holden. She wondered if he was just there to check on what her and Ezra were doing. She couldn't believe he was so annoying. When he was like that with Noel and Jason she had found it annoying, but she never felt the need to defend them like she did with Ezra. Ezra was someone she was absolutely certain of. He was the one guy that would never hurt her, he would never betray her and he would never push her to do anything she didn't want to do. Plus she loved the fact that he had never had sex, she couldn't stand the idea of Ezra with somebody else.

"That depends. Are you going to be nice?" Aria scoffed. He was probably there too rant about how she was making wrong decisions about her life, and how she should just dump Ezra. She was not going to let him speak bad of Ezra in his presence.

Byron walked further inside without saying a word. He gave Ezra an angry glare, although that was probably not the best idea. But he couldn't help himself, he just didn't like the idea of that guy, or any guy, alone with his only daughter. Unfortunately for him Aria was stubborn, she wasn't going to take orders from him. He might have pulled it off when she was still living in his house, but now that she was on her own he had nothing to say.

Ezra could feel the tension in the room, and wondered it they expected him to leave. Probably not though, Aria didn't tell him to leave. Byron on the other hand, probably wanted to push him out the door himself. But he wasn't going to let Byron hurt Aria again, without him being there for her. He couldn't understand why Byron would be so cruel to his little girl. He understood that the guy was protective of his only daughter, but this was just a little over the top. What had he ever done to make Byron hate him?

"Look Aria, I'm sorry if I offended you today." Byron said, not sure if he meant it or not. Ofcourse he didn't want to see Aria upset, and especially not because of him. But why couldn't she understand he was trying to spare her the heart-break she was going to have again soon? He had seen how sad she had been because of Jason and Noel, and he didn't want for it to happen again.

Aria was happy her dad was apologising, it made her feel a lot better. Maybe he finally realised that Ezra was a good guy, and that she was capable of making her own decisions. "Thank you Dad, that means a lot." She said, with a small smile on her face."Do you want something to drink?"

"Yeah, I would like some coffee." Byron said.

"Ez, Do you want another coffee?" Aria asked Ezra.

"Yeah, That would be great. Do you need some help?" Ezra politely asked like the true gentleman he was.

"No thanks, I've got it." she said.

After making the coffee, she handed both Ezra and her dad a cup of coffee. Just as she was about to speak, her Phone went off. She muttered an apology and picked up the Phone. "Spence?" she asked. Spencer was mumbling into the Phone, and it was clear to Aria that she was drunk. "Where are you?" she asked, worried about her friend.

"Okay I'll be right there." she said, grabbing her things and walking to the door. "Sorry, but I have to go get Spencer. You can stay, I'll be right back." she told them, and walked out the door.

This left Ezra and Byron in a very awkward situation, and none of them knew what to say to the other. Ezra understood Aria had to go, he also had to pick up Hardy a few times. But he wished she had asked him with her, because now he was alone with her dad. And her dad wasn't looking very happy, as he sat down across from Ezra.

"Look, Ezra. I don't know you, and I don't intend to get to know you. I don't like you. And I probably never will. But apparantly my daughter likes you, and I don't want to lose my daughter. So I suggest we'll be friendly towards each other, when Aria is around. But other than that, I don't intend on bonding. And if you do anything to hurt my daughter, I swear that you will regret it." Byron told Ezra, making Ezra a little uncomfortable and angry.

"I would never hurt Aria, sir. I love her, and I intend to keep loving her." Ezra said. He wanted to say more. He wanted to tell that he didn't like him either, that he didn't want to get to know him either. But he wasn't going to let this argument escalate into something he would later regret.

"I sure hope you mean what you say." Byron scoffed, he really wanted to go. But he just couldn't go without saying goodbye to his daughter.

Meanwhile Aria was walking home with a drunk Spencer. She hoped her dad and Ezra would get along when she was gone, she really wanted them to bond. She wanted her dad to approve of Ezra, and she wanted Ezra to like her dad. If things continued like this she could see Ezra and her dad spending a lot of time together in the future. Because they would be the people to build a tree house for their children, and her father would have to give her away at the wedding. She knew maybe she was thinking a little far ahead, but she couldn't help it. She just really loved Ezra.

"Ariaaaa, Can you call Hardy?" Spencer slurred, pulling on Aria's arm.

"Why would I call Hardy?" Aria wondered if there was something going on between Spencer and Hardy.

"Becausee... I haven't spoken to him since that night." Spencer went on, not speaking really clear.

"What night?" Aria asked, really excited to hear the answer.

"The night he kissed me... " Spencer said. Aria wanted nothing more than ask Spencer all kinds of questions, but she knew Spencer really just needed to lay down right now. They were close to their room, and Spencer was almost falling to the ground. She opened the door for them, and supported Spencer to her bed. Her dad and Ezra both looked to the door as it opened, anxious for her to return.

"This one needs to go to bed." Aria laughed, as she brought Spencer to her room.

Once she was done with that, she returned back to her dad and Ezra. She was hoping they would be deeply into a conversation by now, but unfortunately that was not happening. They looked a little too happy that she was back.

"I'm back." she said, taking a seat next to Ezra.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. Your mother is waiting for me." Byron said, using Ella as an excuse to get out. He wanted to spend time with his daughter, not with Ezra.

"Oh, Okay. I'll see you tomorrow after class, right?" Aria questioned her dad. They were planning on a late dinner with the four of them.

"Yeah, we'll pick you up, okay?" Byron said to his daughter. He knew she was hoping for him to invite Ezra too, but that wasn't going to happen.

"Sounds good." Aria said, with a small smile. Ofcourse she wished her dad would invite Ezra too, but she knew he didn't want to.

Once Byron was out of the door, Aria turned to Ezra. She was going to ask him all about Hardy and Spencer, hoping he had answers for her."Did you know Spencer and Hardy kissed? Did you know that? Did Hardy say anything to you?" She rambled on, causing Ezra to laugh.

"Yeah, I knew Hardy kissed Spencer. I think he really likes her, actually. They would make a good couple, don't you think?" Ezra replied, it had been a while since Hardy had really liked a girl. And he was happy for him, Spencer was a great girl.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she said, playfully mad.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise I had to tell everything that was going on in Hardy's life to you." Ezra joked.

"hahaha, You're funny Fitz." She said, giggling a little. Then she gave him a small kiss on the mouth. "Will you sleep over?" she asked. Then she realised that Ezra had never slept with a girl and added."Just sleeping Ezra, nothing needs to happen."

Ezra nodded. "Sure." He was getting ready for that, but tonight was not the right night. Not after her dad basically told him he didn't like him, and didn't want him around his daughter."

They changed into some comfortable clothes, and laid down next to each other in Aria's bed. Ezra wrapped his arms around his petite girlfriend, and she let her head rest on his chest. She felt so safe and comfortable in his arms. She gave him a kiss goodnight, before falling asleep. Ezra took a little longer to fall asleep. He felt really comfortable with Aria, but he was feeling a little guilty about hiding things from her. He wanted to tell her what her dad had just told him, just like he wanted to tell her that he was paired up with Jason for his project. But he didn't want her to feel sad or worry about those things.

He really believed he was doing the right thing by not telling her those things. It would only hurt her, and it wouldn't help for her to know these things. And it wasn't as if he actually liked Jason. He really hated the guy for what he did to Aria. But he knew that if she ever found out he didn't tell her about it, it would hurt her even more. He knew he eventually had to tell her, but he decided to wait a little longer. After a while he finally fell asleep.

A few hours later, the alarm clock went off. That meant that they had to get up and get ready for classes. Ezra had a whole day of the project with Jason a head of him, which he was really not looking forward to. While Aria had a few classes, and then the dinner with Mike, Ella and Byron.

Aria quickly got dressed, while Ezra made breakfast for the two of them. He decided to get dressed at home, after eating breakfast with Aria. And so Ezra went to his place, to change clothes, while Aria went to her classes.

Ezra quickly got dressed at home, and made his way to campus. He really didn't want to go to the project, because that meant he had to spend the whole day with Jason. He hated Jason. He was Aria's first and he didn't even appreciate her, he hurt her. That made Ezra's blood boil and all he really wanted to do was punch Jason in the face. But that would mean a suspension for him, and he couldn't use that.

He walked into the classroom, and sat next to Jason who had a smirk on his face. "I saw the Montgomery's are in town." He said.

Ezra was already annoyed and it was just the start of class. Did Jason really have to talk to him about Aria or her family? That wasn't any of his business, he wasn't Aria's boyfriend. "Yeah, they are." he said, not wanting to go further into the subject.

"Well, I bet you're having a hard time then. They aren't exactly the nicest parents-in-law ever." Jason laughed, and Ezra was kind of relieved that they weren't just rude to him. But it still bothered him that Jason felt the need to talk to him about Aria and her parents.

"Let's start with the homework, shall we?" Ezra said, hoping Jason would dropp the subject. He did, and they continued working together in something that would be considered peace.

But what Ezra didn't realise was that Byron Montgomery decided to walk around campus, and he just happened to walk past Ezra's classroom. Byron was surprised to see Ezra sitting next to Jason. He didn't like Jason, and he had no idea why Aria and Jason broke up. He was just relieved that they did. But now Ezra was friends with Jason, apparently.

This annoyed him very much, since he knew Aria didn't like Jason nowadays. He wondered if Aria knew that Jason and Ezra spend time together, probably not. For some reason, he decided to take a picture of the two of them working together. He was going to ask Aria if she knew about the two of them spending time together, and if she would tell him she didn't he would show her the picture. That way he could prove he was right, and that would maybe cause Aria to break up with Ezra.

By the time Byron had finished his walk around the campus, it was time for them to pick up Aria. While Ella and Mike stayed in the car, Byron walked over to Aria's room and knocked on her door. He was planning on her asking her about Jason and Ezra that night, but he didn't know when yet. He couldn't ask her before they went to dinner, because then Ella and Mike would be mad at him. So he decided to ask her afterwards, and then he could play the caring father that comforted her.

Aria was not really looking forward to dinner with her family, but she was happy that at least weren't in a fight anymore. Although she hated them sometimes, she still loved them too. They were the people that raised her, the people she grew up with. So she decided it would be fun to catch up with them, and ask how people at home were doing.

And so father and daughter made their way to dinner, not sharing the same feelings about the night.

 **So, please review. Sorry I took a little long to update. I'll try to update soon, I've just been busy.**


	11. Chapter 11

Aria actually had a good time at dinner. They talked about family stuff, school, and their old friends. Byron pretended to be nice, as if he wasn't planning on breaking her heart by showing her that picture of jason and Ezra. Ofcourse there was a chance that Aria knew that Ezra was friends with Jason, and that would ruin his plan of breaking them up. Some might say it was cruel of him, and a part of him told him so. But that other part of him wanted to expose Ezra as the jerk he really was, so that Aria could get rid of him.

Once dinner was over, Ella and Mike made their way to the hotel. Byron said he wanted to talk to Aria about school work, and that that was the reason he went home with Aria. Aria found it a little strange that her dad wanted to help her with her school work, but she was happy that he was being nice to her. So she gladly accepted his offer to help her. And so they made their way to her room, and Aria opened the door.

"I'll make coffee, and then I'll grab my work." Aria told her dad, walking towards the kitchen.

"Sure, I'll wait here." Byron said, he wanted nothing more than to just ask her. But he knew his daughter, she would realise that he wasn't there to help her. And then she would get mad, and not listen to him. And he needed her to listen to him.

Aria grabbed her things, made coffee and sat down next to her dad. She opened her books ready to just start, so that they could be done with it. They started with the work and after half an hour, they took a break. Byron took this opportunity to ask his daughter the question he desperately wanted to ask.

"Aria, I'm sorry to ask you this. But how well do you really know Ezra?" Byron asked, not asking the most important question yet.

Aria started to get annoyed again, she thought her dad was getting past it. But apparently he couldn't let it go. What was his problem, why was he obsessing over her life. She decided to not get angry right away, she didn't want to fight again. "I know him well enough to be in love with him, Dad."

Byron expected Aria to be annoyed, and so he decided not to raise his voice like she did. He was going to be the kind loving Father that was concerned for his daughter. "So, you can trust him? He doesn't have any secrets for you?"

"Yes, Dad. I can trust him. I love him. He doesn't have any secrets for me. He's a really good guy, dad. If you would just try and get to know him, you would realise that too." Aria replied raising her voice a little. She wanted to shout, but decided not to, because for some reason she didn't want to fight with her dad. Especially not about Ezra.

"Then I assume he has told you that he's friends with Jason?" Byron said, knowing his daughter wouldn't believe him.

"What are you talking about? Ezra isn't friends with Jason, he barely knows the guy. And if he was he would tell me. Seriously, are you just making stuff up to cause a fight between me and Ezra or something?" Aria said, not believing a word her dad said. Ezra wouldn't befriend Jason, after everything she told him about Jason. He wouldn't do that, especially not behind her back.

"Honey, I'm sorry to tell you this. But I'm not lying. I saw them together, they were sitting next to each other and talking." Byron said.

"No, that's not true. You're lying. Why are you lying?"Aria said, refusing to let out the tears that were started to form in her eyes. She was not going to let one of her dad's lies let her cry. She was better than that.

Byron pulled out his Phone, and searched for the photo he took. He held it infront of Aria, who looked a little confused. She couldn't believe it, she trusted him. She told him what Jason did to her, and yet he choose to befriend him? He even lied to her about it. Well, he didn't lie, but he didn't exactly tell the truth either. She couldn't stop a few tears from falling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, honey. I know you loved him, but at least now you know that you can't trust him. It's better this way." Byron said, only causing Aria to cry even more. She wished she was able to be strong, especially in front of her dad. Byron had warned her from the moment he met Ezra, yet she didn't listen to him. Now look where that's brought her. SHe wanted nothing more than to just punch a wall, eat ice-cream and cry. But ofcourse her dad was there, so it wasn't a possibility.

"D-dad, Could you go please? But can you call S-Spencer for me before you leave?" Aria asked, knowing that Spencer was the only person that could help her calm down right now. Her best friend Always knew what to tell her when she was down.

Once Spencer recieved the call from Aria's dad, she immediately left her party and went straight home. She opened the door, only to find Aria sitting on the couch. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was shivering. She looked so sad, and Spencer immediately recognised why. The pins of ice cream, and the many glasses of wine could only mean that she was heart-broken.

"Aria, What happened? Your dad called me, said you needed me?" Spencer said. She took the ice cream out of Aria's hands, so that she could talk to her.

"E-Ezra-a..." Aria managed to get out through out her sad sobs. This immediately caused Spencer to get mad. What did Ezra do to her best friend that caused her to be this upset.

"What did he do? Did you guys break-up?" Spencer asked, wanting to know what he did before she went over to him to kick him in the nuts.

"I'm gonna break up with him, he just doesn't know yet." Aria replied, speaking a little vaguely, but Spencer got the message. She wondered why Aria was planning to break up with Ezra, she thought they made such a cute couple. They both loved english, they loved each other, they were perfect for each other.

"Why? What happened. Aria, tell me..." Spencer asked. But she realised she wasn't going to get any answers from Aria until she had calmed down. And so she sat down next to Aria, and wrapped her arms around her. Aria sobbed softly into Spencer shoulders, letting her tears fall onto Spencer's hair. Spencer brought the comfort Aria needed in that moment, and she calmed down eventually.

Once she sat up straight again, not having stopped crying, spencer continued to speak. "Aria, what happened?"

"He lied to me. Well, he didn't exactly lie. But he hid it from me. Apparently he's hanging out with Jason, and I didn't even know." Aria said, trying not to start cyring again.

Spencer understood why Aria would be a little upset, but she didn't really understand why Aria would get this upset over it. She didn't Judge her or anything, she knew her best friend. If Aria was sad, she had a good reason for it.

"Okay, well that's not a really big deal. I get that you don't like your boyfriend being friends with your ex, but it's not that horrible right?" Spencer said, hoping Aria would tell her why the fact that Jason and Ezra were apparently friend bothered her so much.

"But he didn't even bother to tell me. After I told him what Jason did to me..." Aria said, and quickly realised she had let her secret slip out.

"What did Jason do to you?" Spencer said, realising that Aria was finally going to tell her the reason she and Jason broke up.

Aria realised she should just tell Spencer what Jason did to her. She wasn't ashamed of it anymore, and Spencer was her best friend. She was surprised she had even managed to keep it from Spencer all this time, but she knew that if she did tell Spencer she would go to the police. And she didn't want that.

"Remember that time I had to go to the doctor because I fell from the stairs?" Aria said, recieving a nod from Spencer. "I didn't really fall down the stairs , Jason pushed me down them. He was convinced I was cheating on him, even though I wasn't.

Spencer could actually feel her blood boil, she couldn't believe it. That jerk had thrown her best friend down the stairs. And that asshole that was called Ezra just befriended him, even after knowing what he did to Aria. She wanted to kick them in the balls. No actually, she was planning on it. They would not get away with this, nobody hurts the other half of team Sparia.

"Aria, I swear to god. Jason's not going to get away with this. And neither is Ezra." Spencer said, looking more determined than ever.

"Spencer, You're not going to the police, okay? If I wanted Jason to go to prison, I would have gone to the police when it happened." Aria said, she didn't want to talk about it again. She didn't want to have to tell people why Jason was going to prison because of her, she didn't want to have to tell her parents.

"Okay I won't go to the police. But I can't promise you that I won't kick him in the nuts, okay?" Spencer said, making Aria laugh.

"That's okay, Spence. Thanks." Aria said, letting out a yawn. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. I had a date planned with Ezra tomorrow, and now I have break up with him instead." Aria sighed. It was going to be so hard for her to break up with Ezra, she really loved him. But she had once promised herself that she wasn't going to stay with someone that treats her badly, and so she had to do this for herself.

"It's okay, Aria. Go sleep, and don't worry about tomorrow. I'm here for you. I love you. Team Sparia forever." Spencer said, recieving a smile from Aria. It was something they Always said to each other if they had guy trouble. They would Always remind each other that guys come and go, but Team Sparia is here to stay.

"Thanks Spence, love you too." Aria said, giving Spencer a hug and then walked over to her room.

Now Spencer had two choices. She could either go to sleep or she could go tell Ezra what she thought of him. And ofcourse she choose the second option. She wasn't going to let him have a peaceful sleep tonight. She grabbed her stuff and locked the door. She walked over to Hardy's and Ezra's as quickly as she could, she was full of adrenalin. She was more than happy to kick him in his man parts. She wanted to watch him suffer.

She still couldn't believe that Ezra would do this. They were the perfect couple in her eyes. She believed that he was a good guy, one that would never hurt Aria. Once that would Always treat her right, and respect her. But apparently she was wrong because here she was ready to kick him in the balls because he had hurt Aria.

She knocked on their door, and unfortunately not Ezra, but Hardy opened the door. Spencer liked Hardy a lot, and normally she would have a nice chat with him but now was not the time to have a tea party. "I'm looking for Ezra." she said, scaring Hardy off with her angry eyes.

"Yeah, I'll get him for you. He was just going to bed, you can come in if you want?" Hardy offered Spencer. He wanted to talk to her, but judging by her angry look this was not the time. Too bad, because he really wanted to talk about that kiss. He had meant to kiss her, it was not just some drunken mistake. It was something he had wanted to do for a while, he liked her a lot.

Hardy walked over to Ezra's room, just as Ezra was getting into bed. "Who was at the door?" Ezra asked his friend. Wondering if maybe it was Aria, because now Hardy was at his door. Ezra didn't really get any other guests. Hardy and Spencer were his only friends. And there was Aria, ofcourse. But she wasn't just his friend, In just a few weeks she had become his whole world.

"Spencer, and she's looking for you." Hardy said, and added. "And she's mad. So good luck with that."

Ezra wondered what he had done to get Spencer mad at him, and stepped out of his room. Spencer didn't hesitate and walked over to Ezra immediately. She lifted her leg and pushed her foot right up to where a man hurts the most. Ezra yelled out in pain, and Hardy just stood there wondering what the hell was going on. What did Ezra do to get Spencer mad at him?

"What the hell was that for?" Ezra yelled at Spencer, still in pain.

"I think you know." Spencer replied, crossing her arms against her chest as a sign of anger.

"No, I don't. Please do tell me." Ezra said, he was angry and in pain.

"Well, you lied to Aria. You know next time you decide to go behind her back and talk to her ex-boyfriend, you should try not to get caught by your father-in-law." Spencer replied, wondering if Ezra genuinely wondered why she was mad or if he was just pretending to be stupid.

Ezra was a little shocked by Spencer's words. Well now he knew why he was just kicked in the balls, but right now his pain wasn't his biggest concern. He needed to talk to Aria, he needed to let her know that he wasn't friends with Jason. That he didn't mean to lie to her, that he loved her and that he didn't want to hurt her. Because right now she probably felt betrayed and hurt.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself, Fitz?" Spencer asked accusingly. Ezra had been silent for a while, and she wasn't done with him. She wanted to yell at him for hurting Aria.

"I'm sorry, Spencer. I assume Aria knows?" Ezra asked. A part of him hoped she didn't know yet so that he could go tell her himself, that way it would hurt her less. But knowing Aria's father, she probably already knew. He couldn't even imagine how she must be feeling right now. She trusted him enough to tell him about Jason's abuse, and now she had to find out that he was spending time with Jason.

"Yeah, Ofcourse she knows. How do you think I know?" Spencer replied. She wanted to continue talking, but Ezra had already grabbed his coat and was walking towards the door. "Where are you going?" She asked, but she already knew the answer.

"Where do you think I'm going? I need to go see Aria." Ezra said, walking out the door.

He was going to explain to her that he was sorry. That he loved her, and that he didn't mean to hurt her. He was not going to let Jason be the reason that they broke up. But well Jason wouldn't be the reason. His decision to hide things from Aria would be the reason. But he really did mean to hide things from her because he wanted to spare her. Not because he didn't care.

Spencer wanted to walk after Ezra, but Hardy stopped her. "Spence, It's not your relationship. I get it. Aria's your best friend, but you can't decided how her relationship goes for her." He said, and so they sat down and waited until their best friends would update them. "But just so you know, I don't think Ezra is an asshole. I think he didn't mean to hurt her, and I think he truly loves her. And I know Aria loves Ezra so they'll probably get through this."

"Yeah, we'll see." Spencer sighed.

 **So, please review. And if you have any suggestions, tell me. I'll try to update soon.**


	12. Chapter 12

Ezra was scared out of his mind. He was rushing to Aria's dorm room and his heart was beating in his chest. He was desperate not to lose Aria. He really loved her, she was everything to him. He could not believe he had been so stupid to hide things from her. It wasn't like he hid a small lie from her. He deliberately didn't tell her he was working together with her abusive ex. She had every right to be angry at him. God he hated himself right now.

He had finally arrived at her place, and he started knocking on the door. His heart was now pounding even harder than before, and his nerves were getting the best of him. What if she wanted nothing to do with him anymore. For a while there was absolutely no sound on the other side of the door. So Ezra kept on knocking until he finally heard some sound.

Aria opened the door with red teary eyes. It was obvious that she had been crying and she looked like she wanted to cry again. She couldn't get anything out of her mouth, and so she just glared at him. She wasn't going to start this conversation. This was his fault, and so he was the one to fix it. Ezra could feel a lump forming in his throat, it killed him to see his girlfriend like this. And the thought that he was the one that had caused this made it hurt even more.

"hi." he said, not getting a reaction from Aria, and so he continued. "I'm so sorry. Let me explain please." He desperately wanted her to know that he didn't intentionally hurt her. He especially didn't want her to think that he agreed with what Jason did. Because he absolutely didn't agree with it.

Aria didn't say anything but opened the door a little further, so that Ezra could enter. "It's not what you think." Ezra says, as he starts rambling.

"Oh really. Tell me how exactly." she said with a lot of anger in her voice. "I trusted you, Ezra. I thought you loved me. I told you Jason had abused me, and you told me you thought that was unacceptable. But then you befriend him behind my back?"

"I do love you. I love you very much." Ezra started.

"Ooh really. Why did you do this to me then?" Aria asked couldn't believe that yet another guy she was in love with had hurt her.

"I'm not friends with Jason, okay? But I am doing a project with him, It wasn't my choice. The pairing were made, I couldn't decide. I do not at all agree with what he did. I despise him. Everytime he comments on you, I want to punch him in his face. And I know I should have told you about it, but things were going so well between us and I didn't want anything to ruin that. But I realise now that this hurts you a lot more. I'm so sorry."

"I just can't believe that you lied to me so easily." Aria said, although it was more like thinking aloud than actual conversation.

"I'm so sorry. But you just because I did something wrong, doesn't mean that I don't love you. Because I love you more than anything in the whole world. We can get through this, I will earn your trust back." Ezra said

"I don't know if I can ever forgive you for this." Aria said, breaking every little piece of Ezra's heart. "I think we should take a break."

Ezra heart shattered, he couldn't believe what he just heard. The one girl that he had ever loved, and believed to be his one true love, wanted to take a break from him. He wished he could feel angry and blame her, but he couldn't. It was his own damn fault, if he had just been honest with Aria from the beginning, none of this would have happened.

Ezra had seen this in more than enough shows, movies and most of all in real life. Taking a break usually meant breaking up. And then he would have lost the love of his life. "No, you don't mean that. Aria, please don't. I love you." Ezra said, grabbing her by the shoulders softly. He gently tried to kiss her, but after a few seconds she pulled away.

"Ezra, I think you should leave." Aria said, and Ezra could hear the crack in her voice. Ezra desperately wanted to stay, but he knew that it would not help in this case.

"Fine, I'll go. But I'm not giving up on us, okay. I'll still see you as my girlfriend, even if were on a break. So that when you take me back, it will be like we were never apart."

And with that Ezra was out the door. When the door closed, he could hear the soft sobs coming from Aria, and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but he saw Spencer coming back, and figured Aria could use Spencer more in the moment.

Spencer was furious to see Ezra again. She wanted nothing more than to kick him where it hurts the most again, but she knew that if she did that nothing good would come out of it. She walked right by him, not saying a word and giving him the most angry glare. She too could hear Aria crying and she immediately went inside to comfort her best friend. She had been there for Aria before in this kind of situation. When Aria found out Noel had cheated on her, she cried for weeks, and ate all the ice cream she could find.

Spencer suspected this break up wouldn't be any less. "Hey, You're okay. It's going to be okay."Spencer said, running her fingers through Aria's hair, something she knew had a calming effect on tiny best friend. It took another hour for Aria to calm down, and once she was totally calm and had a cup of tea in her hand, Spencer carefully tried to ask what happened.

"So, what did he say? and what did you say?" She asked, knowing her friend was ready to talk about it.

"Well, he told me that he wasn't friends with Jason, and that it was only for a school project. And when I told him I think we should take a break, he told me he still loved me, and was going to be with me again. I just don't get it, Spence. Is there something wrong with me? Why do I only date guys that end up hurting me? After Jason and Noel, I finally thought I had find a good guy, but then he turns out to be a liar too. What if I never find the right guy?" Aria said, really starting to doubt herself.

"There is nothing, but I mean nothing wrong with you. It's not your fault when a guy hurts you, whether it's physically or mentally. You didn't ask for this, and you certainly didn't deserve this. You'll be okay. I think you should go to sleep, and tomorrow we'll eat Ben & Jerry's and whine about how stupid guys are, okay?" Spencer suggested, seeing how tired her best friend was.

Meanwhile a broken-hearten Ezra had arrived home, where Hardy was waiting for him. Hardy's first plan was to ask how it went, but he saw the tears in Ezra's face and knew that it must have been very bad. "That bad, huh?" Ezra sat on the couch and tried to keep his tears to himself. "She wants to take a break." he said.

"Sorry, man." Hardy said. He didn't really know how to comfort his friend. Hardy had never had a really serious relationship in his life, and so he never had been heart-broken. So he didn't exactly know what is good for someone with heart break.

"Well, atleast it's not a definite break-up." Hardy said, deciding that that was an acceptable comment.

"Yeah, I'm planning to get her back. I know I'm going to get her back. I'll do anything to get her back. I can't live without her. I love her."

The guys were interuppted by a knock on the door. Hardy opened the door, but didn't recognise the guy standing in front of him. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

"No you don't. But you know my brother. I'm Wes, Ezra's brother."

 **So, I decided to write this story a little further. Let me know if you think I should continue with it.**


	13. Chapter 13

It was the morning after Aria's and Ezra's big fight. Wes had stayed over at Hardy's en Ezra's. Although Ezra wasn't very close with his brother, he didn't want to push him away and so he decided Wes could stay a little while. Ofcourse Wes wondered why Ezra looked so sad. So Ezra had to explain that in the time he hadn't seen his little brother, he had met a girl, and managed to screw up his first relationship.

He felt a little bit ashamed of himself. He hadn't seen his brother in a few months, because his brother had chosen his mother's side. And now that he finally sees him again, he is not doing as well as he wished he was. Wes told him that he had a fight with their mother about his schoolwork. But Ezra wondered if it was true or if he was just send by his mother to check up on him.

But nevertheless, Wes was staying with him, so he just had to make the best of it. But he also had to get Aria back. He was still serious about wanting to have her back. He really did love her and he knew he had made an mistake. But he had the perfect plan to fix it. Well it wasn't perfect and it wasn't enough, but he was planning to send her a rose everyday and put a card with it saying I love you.

He had just send the first rose, and she would get it somewhere that day. So that was taken care, and he could spend some time on his schoolwork. Ofcourse he wanted to spend time with Wes, but he had gotten a little behind on his homework and he needed to catch up on it. Luckily his "study buddy" Jason was out of town that week, so he wouldn't have to worry about running into Aria while studying with Jason.

He didn't worry about Wes not having entertainment though. Wes was a very sociable guy. He had lots of friends, and made new ones very quickly. He was also a succes with girls, they all adored him. Or they were atleast friends with him. Wes had had quite a few girlfriends over the years, and had often brought them home. Which ofcourse meant that Ezra would get questions about him not having a girlfriend.

While Ezra started on his homework, and Wes was watching some television, Aria got a knock on the door. She was reluctant to get up and actually open the door, her head was pounding from the night before. She was still very depressed about everything that happened. A part of her thought it might be Ezra knocking on the door. And she didn't know whether she wanted it to be him or not. Ofcourse she wanted to see him, but she was still angry.

She wished Spencer was there, but unfortunately Spencer was "out" with Hardy. They both claimed it was a purely platonic day between friends, but she doubted it was. She got up from the couch and opened the door. There was some kind of delivery guy at the door, holding a rose and a card. "Delivery for Aria Montgomery." he said, giving her the flower and card. "that's me. Thank you." she replied, kind of surprised about this gift.

She had a feeling she knew who send her the rose, but she didn't know whether she wanted to be happy about it. She opened the card which read "I love you. -E"

She had to admit that it was rather flattering to receive a romantic card like that, but she was really torn about the whole thing. She loved Ezra, but she didn't feel like she could trust him anymore. She had thought he was a nice guy, someone that would never hurt her, and now it turns out he was lying to her. It was like she meant nothing to him. Because how can you lie to the person you love?

Even though Aria really wanted to spend the rest of the day eating chocolate in front of the tv, she had to follow a few classes. And they weren't even her favorite classes, so that made matters even worse. She prepared for a day of fake smiling, and a lot of forced conversations. She put on some decent clothes and put her hair together in a pony tail.

Just before she was going to leave her room, her Phone rang. It was spencer. "Hey, how are you doing after last night? I really wish I could be there for you, but you know I already had this thing with Hardy, and it felt rude to cancel. But if you want me there, I can totally come back." Spencer rambled on. Aria interrupted her by saying "No, Spence don't feel bad, okay? I love you and I know you'd be here if I asked okay. I have to go to class anyways."

"You're seriously going to class today, well I sure know I wouldn't be able to do the same if i was in your shoes. You know my offer to kick his ass still stands. So you just have to say the word and he'll be very sorry." Spencer said making Aria laugh. "Thanks, but I'm good. I don't know about me and Ezra yet. Maybe i can forgive him, I really love him you know. But the fact that he lied to me makes loving him so painful. But we are really good together, I mean we like movies, books and authors. The only thing that is really different between is is the fact that I am way more sociable than him."

Spencer nodded, although Aria couldn't see that ofcourse. "Yeah, you're right about that. But take some time to think about it. You don't want to rush this." She advised her best friend.

"Thank you, Spence. Now go have fun with Hardy on your date." Aria teased Spencer, making Spencer giggle. "I will, but it's not a date." Spencer said, in denial.

"If you say so." Aria replied, with a sarcastic undertone. "Yeah, well bye." Spencer replied, faking to be irritated. "Byeeee." Aria replied. Her mood was suddenly a lot better. Talking to Spencer Always seemed to cheer her up. Spencer was her best friend, and she knew her best. So Aria left her room in a better mood than she was going to originally.

She made her way to class and barely survived, because listening to an hour of different theories on why the economy is failing wasn't exactly her cup of tea. She hated economics, but it was something she was required to take, so she had to deal with it. After having a talk with a few of her friends from her economics class, she made her way to the library. She was in the mood to read a few books, because books would take her away from the mess she was in right now.

So she went into the library, and after walking through all the aisles for a while she finally made a decision about which book she was going to read. The fault in our stars. She knew it was a book that was read by basically every girl on campus, and normally she wouldn't choose this book. But for some reason she felt in the mood.

She immediately started reading it, and she did so on a random couch in the middle of the campus. She sat down after buying some tea and started reading. She found herself enjoying the book, and so she didn't immediately notice that someone was trying to talk to her. Only after a few times of that person talking to her, she noticed he was there.

In front of her stood a guy, around her age. He had blue eyes, and light brown hair. "Hi, sorry to bother you. But I don't go here, and I'm visiting someone. Normally he would give me a tour, but he was too busy. Is there any way you could help me?" He asked her with a flirty voice.

Aria however, didn't notice his flirty tone and didn't really think about it. "Sure, what do you want to know?" She asked, being the polite girl she was.

"Well, let me introduce myself first. My name is Wes. Pleasure to meet you." He smiled. "Nice to meet you,Wes. I'm Aria. I actually go here, so I can tell you everything you need to know." she said.

"Well, there a enough things I want to know. For example where are the good bars, the clubs and ofcourse the parties. And who are the cool people and who are the losers?" Wes asked, and laughed. This attitude didn't exactly please Aria so she forced a small smile. "I'm kidding, I want to know about the parties and stuff. But I don't Judge people like that. It was a joke, but I'm afraid it didn't work so well." he said, and his geekiness was adorable.

"No worries, I get it. If I had a penny for everytime I've made a bad joke I wouldn't be swimming in money right now." Aria laughed.

"Well, that makes two of us." Wes replied, feeling relieved that she destroyed the awkwardness.

"So, about the clubs and stuff. There are two clubs just outside campus, and one on campus. Furthermore, there is this bar just next to campus it's called The Brew. And there are plenty of parties. There is one tomorrow, one of my friends is hosting it, you should come. It is a chance to meet some new people." Aria told Wes.

"Really that would be fun, maybe you could take me? I don't mean like a date or something, I just don't want to walk in all by myself." he rambled on.

"Yes, it would be fun, you'll have to be the third wheel tho. My friend Spencer is coming too." She replied.

"Yeah, sure. So can I have your number or something so we can set up a time or something?" he asked.

"Sure, I'll put it in your Phone." she said, and he handed her his Phone. She gave it back with her number in it, and told him to text her.

"Okay, I have to go but I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked. "Yeah, bye." he replied.

When Wes returned to Ezra's room, he found a sleeping Ezra. He looked like he had been drinking and not in a fun way. Wes knew something was bothering him, but he didn't know exactly what it was. So he put a blanket over Ezra's sleeping body and took his bed for the night.


End file.
